


It Takes Two

by Myoneloveismusic



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Anal Sex, Blowjobs, Eventual Smut, Forced Bonding, Kiznaiver AU, M/M, Masturbation, Sharing of Pain, Slow Build, Slow Burn, evil scientist secretly ships them, sharing of emotions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2018-10-06 07:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 62,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10328876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: After waking up an evil scientist's lab, Jason and Tim quickly find out that they're bonded through their pain. Thinking that they can easily deal with that until they find a way to stop it, they keep it under wraps from everyone else. But when Bruce witnesses Tim's unexplained pain, the truth comes out. After that, getting benched is the worst that could happen, right? Wrong. Tim and Jason learn that it's quickly becoming a race against time before one of them breaks and the other loses all sense of pain and feeling, which wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't fallen in love along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is going to be so fucking self-indulgent I swear. I got super obsessed with Kiznaiver and that is where this fic is coming from because I couldn't help but wonder how that sort of scenario would play out with JayTim. So here we are again. :D
> 
> Enjoy the first chapter!!!
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

                Tim woke with a gasp, looking frantically around himself. He was in some sort of lab and when he tried to roll over, found his wrists and ankles bound to the medical table he was on with metal shackles. He looked over to his right and found Jason in a similar state. It was a good thing that he’d made sure to put on a domino underneath his helmet since his characteristic red hood was currently missing.

                “Hood? Hood!” he hissed harshly, trying to wake him up. The last thing that he remembered was chasing after the scientist that they’d been watching for the past few months. And waking up now tied down to a table. “Hood! Wake up!”

                Finally, he shifted and groaned. Tim saw his arm twitch, almost as though he was trying to bring a hand to his head to rub there in wonder as to why the fuck he had such a bad headache. Tim knew, because he had a headache of his own and suspected Jason wasn’t in any better condition than he was. He watched Jason’s brow furrow in confusion as he slowly blinked his eyes open. He looked over and finally registered Tim on the table next to him.

                “Red? Why am I shackled to a table? I realize that I’m quite the catch, but I’m not sure how I feel about getting this kinky the first time around.”

                Tim’s glare was lost in his domino, but he was almost certain that Jason was aware of his reaction. “Little less joking, little more helping me get us out of this and find where our crazy scientist has gone.”

                “Well, well, well,” a voice said, crackling to life around them, before a large screen lit up with his image.

                “Found him,” Jason supplied.

                “Yes, thank you. I have eyes to see.”

                “Looks like my problematic duo has re-joined the world after all. I was starting to get a bit bored with no one to play with.”

                “Yeah, and now would be a really good time to let us go so that we can come play. And by play, I mean kick your ass,” Jason said.

                “I’m afraid that’s going to have to wait a little while. I have an experiment to conduct first. You see, I’m working on perfecting a new brand of technology that connects people through their pain. That means, from here on out, the two of you are going to share each other’s pain. When one of you has gotten hurt, the other person will feel it.”

                Tim shut his eyes and let his head fall back against the table underneath him. “Great. More crazy scientist dudes. I’m so ready to call it a night and order a pizza.”

                “As long as you make it pepperoni, I’m in,” Jason said. “Now are you going to let us go or not?”

                “Of course. Have fun getting out of the hospital alive,” he said as his image was replaced with a countdown. Once it started, the shackles around their wrists and ankles were released.

                Tim jumped off the table and looked around himself. They were in a pretty empty room with minimal medical equipment. He spotted his belt next to Jason’s helmet on a table near the door. He hurried over and slung his belt on, tossing the helmet over his shoulder to Jason who shoved it onto his head and quickly joined Tim near the door.

                “Let’s go Red. Not that I haven’t had an absolutely lovely time with you so far, I would rather get out of here and order that pizza you were talking about.”

                “Sounds good to me,” he shot back.

                They rushed through the door and found themselves in a half-lit hallway that looked like it came straight out of a zombie apocalypse film complete with flickering lights, dirty floors, and overturned medical equipment that had been abandoned. They barely made it a quarter of the way down the hallway before bright floodlights came up and several slots along the wall slid up, allowing pre-programmed lasers to aim around the room.

                “Shit,” Jason cursed, pulling Tim out of the path of one of the lasers and up against the wall next to him, his grip tight on his shoulder.

                “Are you fucking kidding me?” Tim groaned.

                “’Fraid not. We’ll just have to manage as best we can getting through this.”

                “I hate lasers,” Tim said, sliding up underneath the range of one and out of reach of its partner on the opposite wall. He pulled out his bo and swung it up, breaking the main body from the arm that was holding it.

                “You and me both, Red,” Jason said from behind him. “But if we keep that range with your bo, it shouldn’t be a problem taking all of these out down the hallway.”

                Tim surveyed the hall in front of them and checked the timer that he’d already programmed into his gauntlet. “I don’t think we’re going to have time for that. We don’t have much time to get out of here and sneaking up on each part of the wall is going to take too long.”

                “So what you’re saying is…”

                Tim collapsed his bo and took a couple of steps back. “It’s a good thing that we trained with Batman and had an acrobat to influence us.” Jason watched as Tim launched himself forward and carefully avoided the paths of the lasers. His hands clenched into fists a couple of times and he winced when a laser came a little too close for Jason’s comfort and nearly made contact, but Tim’s slim frame was enough to weave through the path until he was safely on the other side of the hallway.

                “See? Not too bad! Now it’s your turn,” he called back.

                “Let’s hope that I can still manage to get through tight spots like I used to,” Jason muttered under his breath. He was glad that he still had his agility and flexibility even with the added bulk and height. He stepped further back than Tim had and let his eyes follow the paths of the lasers until he was sure of their pattern. He took a steadying breath before launching himself forward and jumped over the first one, using his hands to vault over the path of the second pair.

                From there he made quick work of the rest of the hallway, his nerves driving him forward and causing him to be slightly less cautious than he normally would if he’d had more time to cross the maze of laser beams. He told himself that he just didn’t want to end up buried beneath rubble. And he just really, _really_ didn’t like lasers. Jason winced as soon as he pushed off the ground for his last jump. He knew that he wasn’t high enough and as he came over the other side his leg would make contact with the laser’s path.

                He grunted as he crashed to the floor and pushed himself up quickly to assess the damage around his smoking pant leg. Luckily, the laser had only barely grazed him and left an angry red line rather than a missing chunk of his flesh.

                “Fuck,” Tim hissed behind him and Jason turned to find him clutching at his leg.

                “Red? You okay?” Jason asked, pushing himself to his feet and testing his leg. It stung a bit, but nothing that he couldn’t easily walk off.

                “It feels like I just got sliced in the leg.” He paused and looked intently at where Jason had gotten hit. “You don’t think what that scientist was saying is true, do you? About connecting people with their pain?”

                “Oh, but I did, dear, old Robin,” a voice echoed in the hallway. “You really did just experience the same pain that Red Hood did when his leg came in contact with that laser. Now I suggest you hurry if you want to make it out of the building before time runs out. Even with your shared pain, I don’t think the two of you will be able to survive being crushed under a building.”

                “We’ll talk about this later. For now, let’s just get out of here,” Jason said, pushing himself to his feet.

                “I can at least agree with you on that,” Tim said, quickly following him into the stairwell. They sprinted down the stairs. The hospital they were in wasn’t that big, having been left when it became too small to deal with the medical demand, so it didn’t take much time at all for them to reach the ground floor. They burst through the doors and found themselves on the bottom floor and at the back of a large reception area. Immediately, the androids that were wheeling around the floor turned to them.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jason groaned. “First lasers and now evil robots. Perfect.”

                Tim pulled his bo out and extended it with a flick of his wrist. “Better than lasers.” Jason watched as he jumped into the fray and began attacking anything and everything within reach. He sighed, only momentarily relaxing before a sharp pain emitted from his side. He looked up to find Tim had taken a blow from one of the robots.

                “Damn it.” He followed after Tim and fought his way through so they were back to back. “Try to at least avoid getting hurt now that we’re both feeling any hits that the two of us take. I’d rather not come out of this looking any worse than I should be.”

                “That goes double for you then,” he said, swinging his bo around again. He sent a kick to an approaching robot, shoving him backwards into the ones behind him. “Let’s just get out of here. We can’t waste time fighting these things off, especially when we only have-shit.”

                “What?” Jason hissed, shoving a group of robots backwards.

                Tim grabbed the back of his jacket and tugged him away from the battle. “We have to get out of here. _Now._ ”

                Jason followed closely behind Tim, fighting off any robots that strayed too close. Tim pulled them to the door and reached out to push it open, but only ended up slamming up against it instead. Jason managed to stop himself from running into Tim, but he still felt the brunt of Tim running into the door. Tim only spared a minute to curse under his breath before he was getting to work on hacking into the system that kept the door shut and locked. Jason kept himself occupied with fighting off the robots that were insistent on pestering them despite their desire to leave.

                “How you doing back there, Red?” Jason asked and grit his teeth as he took another blow to the side. He was feeling much more wearied than he was used to. Not that he had much experience fighting off an army of robots, but he figured that a group of thugs could be considered somewhat of an equivalent. The ones that knew how to fight, anyway.

                “Almost there. Just try not to get hit so much. It breaks my concentration,” Tim answered and Jason grit his teeth at how tense he sounded.

                Jason picked up one of the robots in front of him and used it to take out the few robots waiting behind it. For one blessed moment he didn’t have a new opponent to take on. And then a new line of robots stood up and moved toward him. He groaned. He really, _really_ hated robots. Almost as much as lasers.

                “Done,” Tim said hurriedly and grabbed hold of the back of Jason’s jacket. He stumbled slightly before gaining his bearings and rushing after Tim. They made it a handful of feet away from the building before there was a distinct rumbling behind them and the old hospital was coming down.

                “Shit,” Jason cursed and launched himself forward. He brought them both to the ground, cradling Tim’s head against his chest and covering his body with his own. Tim curled against him, burying his face in Jason’s jacket as dust and dirt billowed around them. Jason recognized the slight stinging in his back from where Tim had taken the hit of the fall and winced as he made to move off of him, only then realizing that he himself must’ve been hit by something.

                Tim pushed himself into a sitting position and groaned. “I’m exhausted. I could sleep for at least two days now that this whole thing is over. For now.”

                “Wow, only two days?” Jason quipped, manoeuvring himself next to Tim to look at the remains of the hospital that they’d just been in. “Your ability to go without sleep astounds me. I need at least a week.”

                “I assume you know what’s going to happen from here?” Tim asked.

                “You mean that we can’t tell the rest of the Bats about this? The fact that you think I don’t understand the gravity of this wounds me. After that and fighting off an army of robots, I don’t know how I’m going to come back from this.”

                “You’ll survive.” Tim was silent for a moment. “Thanks though. I wouldn’t have been able to get out of there on my own.”

                “Don’t go getting all sentimental on me, Red,” Jason said, pushing himself to his feet. He held out a hand that Tim took gratefully and got pulled to his feet. “My bike should still be around here. Want a ride back to your apartment? You might be cutting it close with how late into the morning it is if you try and grapple back across Gotham.”

                “I don’t think my body would be able to hold up if I tried,” Tim admitted honestly.

                Jason slung an arm around Tim’s shoulders and pulled him next to him. They slowly trudged across the open lot towards a different set of buildings where Jason had stowed his bike earlier. It was still hidden in the shadows and Jason wheeled it further out to the edge of the alley. He swung a leg over and settled down into the seat. Tim climbed on, too tired to really care what anyone would think when he wrapped his arms around Jason’s stomach and sagged against him.

                “I know you’re tired, but try not to fall asleep back there. I don’t need the entire Batclan coming after me if you end up as a pancake on the street.”

                “Just go. I’m not that tired,” Tim huffed.

                “Suite yourself,” Jason said, bringing his bike to life. The low rumble was comforting, so much different from the sound that had signalled the end of the hospital building mere moments ago. Tim closed his eyes as the wind brushed over them both. It tugged at his cape slightly and he reached behind him with one hand to gather the material and tucked it between their bodies.

                The ride felt like it took no time at all before they were slowing and carefully turning into an empty alley next to Tim’s apartment building.

                “Alright Red, here we are. Apartment, sweet apartment.”

                Sluggishly, Tim pulled himself from the motorcycle and moved off to the side where he could get a clear grapple shot to the roof. “Thanks for the ride. Keep an eye out for any crazy scientists?”

                “And an ear open,” Jason said, nodding.

                Tim shot his grapple to the roof and pulled himself up quickly without looking back. He heard more than saw Jason turn his bike and leave the alley behind making for either his own place or one of his safehouses. He silently crept down the fire escape to his window and disabled his security before slipping inside. He redid all of his triggers and nearly ripped off his domino when he was done.

                He almost decided to skip out on a shower. Almost. He was tired, but he wasn’t _that_ tired. He flicked on the light of his bathroom and finally got a glimpse of how tired he actually was. His hair was mussed from the ride and still had noticeable traces of dust in it and his eyes were dull which made the bags underneath stand out even more. He might need more than a couple of days to get his energy back after everything he’d been putting into their case and the lasers and robots that they’d had to deal with.

                Sighing, Tim turned on the water for his shower and began to undo the clasps of his suit and let piece by piece slowly accumulate into a pile on the floor. He felt nearly half asleep by the time he shoved his pants and jock strap down and would’ve missed it if he hadn’t looked in the mirror before stepping into the shower. If he’d missed it, he might’ve been able to live in blissful ignorance until Jason found his.

                Over his left hip bone and unmistakeably bright, was Jason’s symbol. Tim rubbed at his eyes, sure that he was hallucinating, but each time he looked back, the red bat was still there. He tore his eyes from the mirror and looked down at his hip himself, running his fingers over the shape. The skin there was perfectly smooth, scars notwithstanding, and there was nothing to indicate that it hadn’t always been a part of his skin.

                He wasn’t sure if it was his sluggish brain that kept him from running screaming from the bathroom right away, but Tim fell to the floor and dug through his clothes before he got to his comm that had been left in the pile. He activated it quickly, thankful that Jason still had his in and picked up.

                “Is something wrong? I literally just got back to my own place and don’t really feel like driving back across Gotham,” Jason answered wearily.

                Tim would later claim that it was also exhaustion that kept his brain-to-mouth filter from working properly, too. “You’re in me,” he blurted.

                Jason choked. “Excuse me?”

                Tim smacked his forehead. “No. Not like that. I mean…what I’m trying to say is…your symbol. Your symbol is on me.”

                “My symbol…is on you. Okay…why?” he asked, slowly.

                “I don’t know, but I was taking off my uniform and found your bright red bat on my hip. And if I have to wager I guess, I’m going to say that it was our lovely scientist friend that put it there.”

                “Are you sure that you’re not just forgetting a drunken night at a tattoo parlour?” Jason asked.

                “Not unless you had one to. Now strip and tell me if you find anything.” Tim felt his nerves rear their ugly heads. He didn’t think that he was wrong, but he really didn’t know how to explain it if he was. The line was silent for a few moments, but Tim was sure that he heard the rustle of fabric from the other end.

                “I’m too tired for this shit,” Jason huffed. “Why can’t we deal with a normal scientist for once?”

                “Because we’re not that lucky. Is yours in the same place as mine?” he asked.

                “No.”

                “Feel like elaborating?”

                “No.”

                “Jas-“

                “It’s on my chest,” he said quickly. “It’s on my chest. Over my heart.”

                “Oh,” Tim said, mind immediately going blank. Jason had his Red Robin symbol over his heart.

                “Fuck,” Jason breathed.

                Fuck, indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, because I'm nice and got this chapter done in three days, I decided to post it for y'all after going through the round of edits. I'm really looking forward to some of things that I have planned for this fic and as I was rereading through my fic notes there's one instance in particular that I can't wait to expand on, but it sadly won't be happening for a while yet. 
> 
> In the mean time, enjoy some more from our lovely boys! :D
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim blinked his eyes open slowly. The sun was peeking through the opening where his blackout curtains didn’t quite meet and forcing light into his otherwise dark room. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes, confused as to why he wasn’t waking up to the sound of an alarm. It took him a minute to remember that he hadn’t set one the night before. And that thought had him stiffening and sitting up quickly in bed.

“I was dreaming. There’s no way…” he looked down hesitantly. He’d gone to bed in only his boxers, but the blanket was bunched up around his waist. He reached or it slowly, afraid that something was going to jump out at him. Maybe if he was lucky it would be Dick or Jason saying that it was all some huge joke and that he hadn’t actually been captured by some evil scientist dude.

Tim nudged the blanket aside slowly and groaned when he saw the first hint of red on his skin. He fell back onto the mattress, throwing on arm over his face. Maybe if he ignored it all long enough or blocked it out, it would just go away.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he chastised himself. There was no way that this was just going to go away on its own. “Fine, fine. I’ll get up and start doing some research. I’ve had enough sleep anyway.”

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, but they got caught in his blanket and sent him crashing to the floor. He grumbled into the carpet, face smooshed against it and arms splayed out above his head. He groaned.

“This day is just going to keep getting better and better.” Tim pushed himself onto his back and stared at the ceiling, letting his arms lie open from his sides. His phone vibrated once where he’d left it on his bedside table and he pushed himself up to and into a sitting position. He grabbed his phone and leaned against his bed as he swiped to open the new message.

_Jason: I hope you have a good explanation for waking me up so early with whatever it was you just did._

_Tim: Sorry, fell out of bed_

_Jason: I thought that you said you were going to sleep for two days? That’s not sleeping for two days!_

Tim rolled his eyes and got to his feet. He typed out a reply as he walked through his apartment to get to the kitchen. He was up now and that meant one thing: coffee.

_Tim: Hey, I didn’t set an alarm so I woke up naturally, which means that it’s time for me to get to work._

_Jason: Can’t you just relax for a day or two on this?_

_Tim: Even if I was letting the whole finding the scientist dude fall to the side, I still have schoolwork and stuff with WE_

Tim sighed as the smell of brewing coffee began to fill the apartment. He set his phone on the counter and pulled a mug from the cabinet as he waited for a response from Jason. He pulled the now full coffee pot from the coffee maker and filled his mug before grabbing his phone and moving over to the couch. He leaned up against the arm and tucked his feet underneath him, holding his mug in one hand and phone in the other as it vibrated again.

_Jason: Now you’re just making me feel guilty. Don’t worry about the mad scientist dude, I’ll look into him. You just focus on everything else._

Tim balanced his mug on the arm of the couch so he could type with both of his hands.

_Tim: I’m not going to leave you with all the work. We’ll have more luck if we’re both working on this, not just one or the other._

_Jason: Geez, you can’t just let someone do something nice for you, can you?_

Tim grinned.

_Tim: Sorry, it’s not in my nature._

_Jason: Alright, fine! I’ll check in with you later and let you know if I find anything._

Tim chuckled and set his phone to the side. He downed the remainder of his coffee and got up to get a refill. When he returned, he perched himself on the edge of the couch and set his mug on the coffee table, pulling his laptop towards himself and starting it up. Tim began his search by looking up records of the abandoned hospital they’d been in the night before.

Like Tim had known, the hospital was abandoned when it couldn’t handle the medical demand anymore and a larger hospital was needed and built. What he didn’t know was that the workers had apparently specialized in caring for children and that was the largest portion of their patients. His brow furrowed when he stumbled upon news reports of some sort of conspiracy that had come out just before the hospital had closed down.

There had apparently been a large number of complaints filed by the parents of the children who had stayed at the hospital. Reports that they’d been experimented on or complained of feeling weird bouts of pain. The families had pointed fingers at a certain doctor, Roger Peterson, but the hospital and the doctor himself hadn’t offered any comment with regards to the accusations.

Tim made a mental note of the name and to go snooping through medical records and any personal files that were still hanging around the internet or old medical databases to find out just who this doctor was. He opened a new tab in his web browser and started his search for any news articles that had already been posted about the hospital being destroyed the night before.

Sadly, the only thing that he managed to find was a short article written by an independent news source. It didn’t have any direct quotes in the article and the only mention was that there were apparently reports of people hearing an explosion in the early hours of the morning and that they’d found the rubble. There wasn’t even a picture which was even more frustrating. He’d just have to wait and hope that something else would be published later in the day or it would be covered by the news.

And if it wasn’t…then he probably had a lot more digging to do and potential government involvement to watch out for. And _that_ was never fun to deal with.

Tim jumped up from the couch and walked over to the desk that was set up in the corner of the room. He opened the drawer and pulled out one of the many USB drives that he had stored inside that weren’t in use at the moment. He returned to his seat and plugged it into his computer, opening a Word doc and starting a case file for their mad scientist friend as he gathered information.

He almost wished that he had the drive that he’d used to keep all of the information that he and Jason had already gathered on the scientist when they were trying to track him down, but Jason had that one in his apartment and Tim hadn’t wanted to risk having two copies of everything floating around. The advance in technology sort of made him miss the days of file folders and pin boards, but only for the aesthetic really. Working with those was really asking for trouble and he wasn’t in the mood for his identity to become compromised. You can’t exactly password protect pieces of paper.

He copied the links for the older news articles he’d found and the one over the collapse that morning and made a note to look up any files or records on Roger Peterson later. If the experiments that had been mentioned held any truth to them, than the child abductions that he and Jason had been looking into suddenly made a lot more sense. He’d have to run that by Jason later and get his thoughts on the whole case.

He picked up his phone and shot off a quick text.

_Tim: Meet me at the rendezvous point at midnight tonight._

Not worried about a reply at that moment, he saved his file on the hard drive and pulled it free, setting it on the table next to his computer. He looked into the bottom of his empty coffee cup and sighed, getting up to get yet another refill. The realities of his school and work responsibilities were rearing their ugly heads meaning he had to put the vigilante work to the side for the moment and focus on other things.

Tim was slumped over the table hating everything about life and his responsibilities when his phone vibrated. He sighed far too dramatically for the fact that he was alone and sat up, pulling his phone over to him.

_Jason: Got it. I’m assuming you have a lead?_

_Tim: Possibly. If anything it’ll just give us more information as to who our scientist friend actually is._

_Jason: Cool. If you want to tag along on my patrol, I’m going to ask some people on what they know about him. It would save me from relaying the info, but it’s no big deal if you have your own stuff to take care of._

_Tim: Tempting offer. I’ll see where I’m at for the night and let you know when we meet up._

He shoved his phone away and groaned as he resigned himself to returning to his work. Sundays were always the worst because he had work that he had to finish and knew that he would be faced with classes and WE responsibilities the next day. At least during the weekend he could pretend that he only had to think about patrol and cases and enjoy doing what he really wanted to do.

From there, the day passed relatively quickly. Not as quickly as Tim hoped, but quick enough. Although he wasn’t sure if he wanted the day to be over, because even though that meant he’d be able to go on patrol, it also meant that he would be waking up hours later to deal with people who he really didn’t want to interact with. It was a double edged sword that he was forced to live with every second of the day.

Regardless of how much he was dreading the next day, Tim eagerly suited up, ready to fly across rooftops and over Gotham. He got to protect people that trouble decided to mess with and make Gotham a better place, if only for a few hours.

The wind was cool on his face as he flew from building to building, taking in the night sky. The smog wasn’t as bad as usual, the air pollution almost low enough to be forgotten about. It was refreshing and Tim was enjoying it. Unfortunately, even on the best nights, crime never decided to take a day. It was a pity really, he never thought that doing something bad fit the atmosphere that that type of night set.

It seemed almost as though something was happening on every street that he decided to pass. If someone wasn’t getting mugged, they were getting attacked over something, if there weren’t hate crimes, than someone was trying to abduct something else or rape them. It was disgusting, but so satisfying whenever he got to push people around with his bo. Some of the victims were more grateful than others, but that was always how it went. The small-time guys were always the easiest to take down as it was, but it wasn’t until he set foot on the rooftop where he was going to wait for Jason that he remembered that he needed to be more careful when it came to fighting.

Their connection hadn’t caused problems yet, but that didn’t mean he could throw caution to the wind. He’d been lucky with the low-level criminals that he’d only encountered. Things could get a lot worse if he were to go up against one of the big names in Gotham.

The barely perceptible crunch of gravel was all that preceded Jason’s greeting.

“Hey, Red.”

“Hey.”

“Nice night,” he said, stepping up next to him at the roof ledge.

“That it is.”

They were silent for a moment, looking out over Gotham. Like this, they could imagine for just a moment that they wouldn’t be faced with another crime as soon as they turned the next street corner. They could pretend that there wasn’t anything dark lurking in the streets or behind closed doors. It was a fool’s image, but one that was nice to consider from time to time.

“So what did you find out?” Jason asked, breaking their silence.

“I looked into the records of the hospital that we were in last night and just before the hospital closed there was this big conspiracy surrounding one of their doctors. Apparently, a certain Roger Peterson had been accused of experimenting on some of the kids in the hospital. Some technology that connected them through pain is what the accusations said. I haven’t had any time to look at where the allegations lead or what was done to him, but it might be a clue into the identity of our scientist friend.”

“That’s a start at least. I can use that tonight when I ask a few questions.”

Tim hummed, knowing that he meant punching people until he got answers. “When I checked news articles this morning, there was only one article from an independent news site that had reported the collapse of the hospital as well. I was too busy to look into other reports this afternoon, but you know what that means…”

“If there are no other reports about the collapse, then there’s a high chance that we’re dealing with government involvement.”

“Exactly.”

“I really hope that we’re not dealing with government involvement.”

“Same here.”

Jason’s shoulders sagged. “I’m not ready to have people after my ass again, trying to arrest me. How am I ever going to survive?

Tim snickered. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that you’ll live. You’ve been through a lot.”

Jason looked at him and Tim was certain that if he wasn’t wearing his helmet, he’d probably be pouting at him. “You could work to be a little more supportive there.”

“I thought you didn’t want me to hold your hand? Aren’t you the big, bad Red Hood? What happened to all that toughness and that razor sharp attitude?”

Jason straightened. “My toughness and sharp attitude will always be here, but I’d never say no to holding your hand, Timmy.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Surrrrreee. Got any intel for me?”

“Not yet, but if you’re feeling like tagging along you can see the action first hand.”

Tim checked his watch and mentally ran through the remainder of his patrol. “I think I might have a few moments to spare as long as I don’t get too far along your route. I should at least get a little more sleep tonight.”

They set off across the rooftops, checking alleys as they went by.

“That’s right, you have classes tomorrow don’t you?”

“Unfortunately. I’ll get through it just fine though.”

“Maybe I can send you off with a bit of a bang?” Jason asked.

“Don’t kill anyone, Jason.”

“I didn’t say anything about killing. But I wouldn’t mind a shot or two in a leg.”

“Why do I even put up with you?” Tim asked, laughing.

“Because I have a great sense of humor and devilishly handsome looks.”

Tim hummed. “I don’t know if I entirely agree with that…”

“What?!” Jason asked, feigning shock. “You mean you don’t think I have a great sense of humor?!”

Tim laughed and punched him in the arm as they landed on a rooftop. “That’s not what I said now was it?”

“Nah, but I can’t just pass up on the chance to tease you now can I?” Jason asked, pulling Tim into a headlock.

Tim poked Jason in the side, making him jump and let go of his head. “Come on, I only have a little bit to see what kind of information you get. Don’t waste it.”

“Always so unforgiving. Alright, come on, let’s go.”

Tim followed closely after Jason across the rooftops until they found one in a much shadier area of town. Tim recognized it as being close to the hospital they were in last night. There was a nervous-looking man trying to hide in the alley below. Jason wasted no time in jumping down to him, making him cower back against the wall. Tim dropped to the fire escape so that he could still listen, but wouldn’t be intruding. He didn’t need the guy wasting their time if he decided to call up to Tim to try and get his attention.

“Red Hood,” he nearly shrieked. “What do you want?”

“I think it’s pretty clear what I want: information. And you obviously knew that since you’re here hanging out in an alley in the middle of the night.”

Jason stepped closer, making the guy put his hands up I front of him, like that would be enough to keep Jason from doing serious damage. The sight almost made Tim want to snort.

“What do you know about the old hospital that was taken out last night?”

“Old hospital? J-just that it was shut down years ago due to allegations of experiments on children.”

“So it wasn’t closed down because they needed a bigger place?” Jason growled.

“N-no!” he squeaked. At this rate Tim thought that the man was going to piss himself. “That was just a cover that was put up to keep the hospital from l-looking bad.”

“What came out of the allegations then?”

“That’s all I know-“

“Are you lying to me?” Jason hissed. “Don’t lie to me.”

“Okay, okay! As far as I-I-I know they were dropped. O-or settled out of court and never reported to the press.”

“One more question. What do you now about Roger Peterson?”

The man stilled and looked at Jason before cocking his head. “I’m sorry, but who?”

“You don’t know the name?” Jason asked, taking a step back.

“Never heard of him.”

“He wasn’t involved at the hospital?”

“If he was, his involvement wasn’t reported or talked about.” He started edging towards the alley entrance in order to get away from Jason who absentmindedly waved him away, mind already working over the new information. He turned and hurried back up the fire escape to where Tim was waiting for him, the two of them jumping back up onto the roof.

“So no leads on our good old doctor, huh?” Tim said.

“And most of what we already knew about the hospital,” Jason added. “We have a little more to go on. Keep asking about the hospital and why it was shut down and this Roger Peterson.”

“Yeah…” Tim was already distracted, trying to see if any of their pieces of information could fit together yet.

“You still want to tag along or…”

Tim shook his head. “I need to head back to my patrol and I want to do a little more digging when I get back. Let me know if you find anything else.”

Jason nodded. “Will do. And I’ll ask about anymore abductions that might’ve happened or where those kids are being taken since we didn’t get our answers last night.” He started to move off, but Tim called him back.

“Oh, and Jason?” Jason looked over his shoulder from where he was perched on the roof ledge. “Stay safe and try not to take too many hits.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Jason jumped from the building and Tim sprinted across the roof in the opposite direction, intent on making it back to his own patrol route. He didn’t have much new information, but his mind was already racing through possibilities as to what it could all mean. It just proved how much work they still had to do and that it probably wouldn’t be as easy to track down their scientist again.

The rest of his patrol passed in a blur. He and Jason swapped several calls over the coms when they felt the effects of one of them getting a lucky hit from someone they were up against. They finally just agreed that they wouldn’t contact each other unless it was something abnormally high. They were vigilantes and didn’t need to be checking in on the small things that could be brushed off.

Tim just hoped that it stayed that way, not wanting to know what it would feel like should one of them get into some serious shit. Hopefully, he’d never get his answer. Or, they’d be able to find their scientist before either of them found themselves in a really bad situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (P.S. There's also a pretty good chance that you might be getting a second update for this fic from me this week, so be sure to leave me lots of nice comments, okay? :* :D Love you all, lots!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies!!!! I'm back with another chapter and I'm super excited for it so I hope that you are too! More plot happens in this chapter which is exciting in itself and it seems that my chapters just keep getting longer since this one is touching down at just under 3.8k. Oh well. We have lots more to go so I hope you're ready for this update because I sure am! ^.^
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim yawned as he pushed the door open to his apartment. He toed off his shoes in the entryway and walked towards his bedroom to strip out of his suit and into something more comfortable. As he’d suspected, it’d been a long day and he was more than ready to relax and not have to worry about school or WE. He’d wanted so badly to look into the new information that he’d gotten the night before and what Jason had texted him at the end of his patrol, but knew that once he got started, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

But now, when he’d switched his suit for sweatpants and a loose tee and could sit cross-legged in front of the couch to work on his computer at the coffee table, was when he could turn his entire focus to the case at hand. He unlocked his phone and read over the message that Jason had sent him early in the morning.

_Jason: No leads on this Roger Peterson guy and a lot of people are pointing at this thing being settled out of court. Possible bribes. I’m talking lots of dollars here, or threats. Whoever’s behind this was intent on keeping the press to a minimum. I’d say that government involvement is a strong possibility, but no confirmation on it yet._

The knowledge that they could be dealing with something so large drew a heavy sigh from Tim’s lips, but it was to be expected. As soon as he’d started his research he couldn’t deny the possibility.

Instead he turned to his computer and the working case file that he’d started. He doubted that they’d be able to encounter the scientist soon. The likelihood that he would make a move after they’d tracked him down wasn’t high, but he also didn’t entirely know who they were dealing with, especially now that he and Jason were connected.

Tim started with quick a search on the building collapse. He hadn’t seen anything on the news when he’d been able to watch it on T.V. It didn’t worry him that the information was missing from news reports because it probably wasn’t prominent enough to draw airtime attention, but he was certain that it would have to at least be covered in an online article. People would be suspicious of a sudden building collapse even if it was in a rougher part of town. Those things weren’t normal and people still asked questions about such events, even in Gotham.

Ten minutes later and he was really starting to worry. His bottom lip was well on its way to being chapped for all the biting and nibbling he was doing now that he was set on edge. He was finding nothing. No records in the papers as to the collapse. And nothing in the police databases that suggested they were even investigating. He could handle a lack of news coverage, but an absence of police investigation just didn’t make sense. It seemed that they were inevitably going to be facing off against someone in the government or someone who had a lot of government influence.

Tim ran a hand through his hair in frustration and tried to open the link to the one report that he’d found yesterday. Only for it to be gone.

“No,” he breathed. “No, no, no. This cannot be happening.”

He hacked into the website quickly, gaining access to the interface to find any remnants of the article, but there was nothing. The report hadn’t just been hidden from the public, all traces of it were simply gone. The realization made Tim’s blood run cold.

“What the fuck did we just get ourselves involved in?”

He added notes to his case file about the developments that he’d just uncovered. He knew that he needed to call Jason, but he needed to look into something else first. He had to figure out who Roger Peterson was. Even if nobody on the streets had heard of him or could remember him, his name was listed in press reports of the hospital. It was possible that the name was made up, but there had to be a record of who was working with kids and if he could track down the last names of the patients…

Tim got to work quickly, hands flying over his keyboard as his mind raced to absorb every piece of information and to try to start putting it together. The only information that he could find on Roger Peterson was the mentions of his name in the newspaper articles. There was no record of such a doctor working at the hospital and no records of him being employed at the new hospital when he did a quick search through online profiles and LinkedIn pages.

So the identity was a fake to cover up the actual people involved which wasn’t surprising. He dug deeper, looking for employment records from the hospital…and immediately coming into contact with a firewall that had been put in a peculiar place. It was true that hospitals didn’t usually keep their employment records public, but to have this strong of a firewall in place? That was unusual. Someone skilled had set this up for the workers, but not skilled enough since it wouldn’t keep Tim out for long.

In a matter of minutes, Tim had hacked his way through, having to disable a second system that was going to report his entrance and try and hack him to get his location and identity. If he was anyone else he probably would’ve missed it, but he wasn’t trained by Batman for nothing. He took a minute to breathe now that he wasn’t racing against the clock.

The records weren’t as lengthy as he was expecting, the hospital having a much smaller staff then he would have thought was needed. Unless there was another level of employment that wasn’t documented in this area of the records that is. He flipped through the different files. They had employed a nurse staff of ten and five doctors, three of which also had specific pediatric training. There were also two surgeons on board. It all seemed normal and good enough, but it made Tim wary.

He copied the files and added them to his own store of information. There had only been one surname mentioned in the news article about the scandal, but it would be a start as long as he had a list of patient records and which doctor had been assigned to them. He navigated his way from the employment records and started looking for those kept on the patients. If the hospital was operating as a normal one would, they would have both paper and electronic copies. He wasn’t disappointed.

What he was surprised by, was that he found an identical firewall protecting the patient records that had been guarding the employee records. What was more surprising, was that it had two pieces of software that were trying to get to his information. So the patient records were considered more important. But why?

He skimmed through them quickly, looking for the one name that had come up in the newspaper article: Jones. The woman who’d been quoted had been a parent of one of the children that was supposedly experimented on. It was his one key to finding the name of the doctor. He felt his heartrate start to pick up as his nerves mounted the further into the records he got.

The sudden sound of his ringtone slicing through the air made him jump back against the couch. Tim ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself as he reached for it, answering without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“What the fuck?!” Jason exclaimed.

“I’m sorry?” he asked, incredibly confused.

“What’s going on with you?”

“What are you talking about? I’m literally just in my living room going through medical records from the old hospital. What made you think that something was wrong?”

“I just got this really bad feeling. Well…I don’t know if it was strictly bad, but something felt off. And after doing a quick sweep through my safehouse and finding that there wasn’t anyone around, inside or outside, I figured the only other cause of it could be you.”

“Huh.” Tim’s mind started to race again. Perhaps there was more to this connection than he’d originally thought. He wondered if he should be worried about that.

“That’s it? Just a ‘huh?’” Jason asked, incredulous.

“Sorry, I’m thinking.”

Jason sighed. “Anyway…now that I’ve called you, have you learned anything new about our friend?”

“A bit. And I’m pretty sure that you’re not going to gather any information about Roger Peterson on the streets.”

“Why not?”

“Because no one with that name was employed by the hospital?”

“So are you saying that our guy snuck into the hospital to do his work?” Jason asked, fully alert.

“That’s a possibility. But I’m leaning more towards the workers giving false names to the patients and press instead of those that were listed on their payroll. The hospital was working under a lot of secrecy. Both their employment and patient records had really decent firewalls guarding the information. They’re intent on keeping people out.”

“So how are we going to find our guy?”

“There was a woman quoted in the article that brought up accusations against Peterson. I’m looking for a patient with the same surname, or I was before you called me, and-“

“And you were going to find out which doctor was assigned to that patient.”

“Exactly.”

Jason let out a breath that crackled through the speaker. “This is more complicated than I was expecting.”

Tim chuckled. “Don’t I know it. And you know what this means right?”

“The dread in your voice is making me wince. Government involvement?”

“Yup,” he said, popping the p. “At least a very, very likely chance of it like you’d told me this morning.”

“Wonderful.”

“You didn’t hear anything else about more abductions did you? Or a pick-up point for the people who’ve already been taken?”

“Nah,” Jason sighed. “Nothing came up last night, but I’ll keep asking around. I’m hoping that someone will now something tonight.”

“And if not?”

“And if not…we keep working. Keep looking into this hospital and hopefully stay off any government radar as unlikely as that’s going to be.”

“Speaking of working…” Tim said, eyeing his computer.

“Yeah, you need to do more detective stuff. You’re done with having to deal with me for the day. I get it.”

Tim chuckled. “Yes I have to go and do more detective stuff, but trust me when I say that it’s got nothing to do with not wanting to talk to you.”

“Aw, I’m touched. I guess that this makes up for last night when you said that you don’t think I have a great sense of humor.”

“Ass,” Tim said, laughing. “I told you that’s not what I was saying.”

“I know, I know, but you make it too easy to tease you.”

“Whatever,” Tim said, rolling his eyes. “I seriously gotta go. Remember, no calls tonight unless it’s something serious.”

“Yeah, yeah. Later, Timbo.”

Tim hung up and set his phone to the side. He leaned forward and started looking through the records again, thankfully far more calm than he’d been before. As weird as the call with Jason had started, he was a little relieved that it had actually come. It’d calmed him down at least and stopped his brain from imagining all kinds of terrible scenarios.

Finally, after what seemed like thousands of pages and patient names, he found the one he was looking for. He was ready to rejoice and celebrate in what he’d found. He was so close to some form of concrete information that could lead to the next clue, the next step. It would bring him closer to getting the bond that he now had with Jason removed and they could go back to business as usual: taking down criminals and putting them behind bars. And six feet under which still happened when Jason got a bit too angry.

And then Tim’s heart nearly broke in two.

Next to the patient’s name: Max, was the unmistakable word that each parent dreaded hearing when their child was taken into the hospital with a serious illness: Deceased.

The discovery left Tim reeling a little more than it probably should have. He had to deal with crime and death on a daily basis. He knew that people died every day. Innocent people, too. Men, women, and children alike. Yet this death that he hadn’t even witnessed, only found the record for, was giving him the urge to vomit because for some reason he couldn’t handle the information.

He took steady breaths to try and calm himself down. He didn’t want to believe that he was having so much trouble because this boy possibly died from the same thing that was happening to him. He didn’t want to believe that he was so selfish as to make this about himself when it was so much bigger. He didn’t want to undermine an entire family’s pain just because of what he happened to be going through.

Tim swallowed, trying to force back the phantom taste of bile that wanted to rise up his throat and pushed on. He only needed to know who the doctor was. He didn’t need to know anything else.

_Patient Notes:_

_March 8: The previous success that the experiment had been having has failed. Max has taken a turn for the worse, finding it difficult to bear even the smallest sensations. The change in his health has also made it difficult for him to eat. We worry that if this continues he’ll lose strength and his health will decline further._

_March 11: Patient’s health has gotten much worse. He is no longer able to sleep unless he’s been given heavy sedatives, and even then it’s difficult for him to make it through the night without drawing the attention of the nurses with his whimpers of pain. His sensations are shared by half of the patients, while a different change has occurred in the other half. The doctors on staff are working to reverse the process or correct the malfunction that is occurring._

_March 15: Max had held steady for several days, not getting any worse, but not getting any better._

Tim’s hand clenched where it was resting on the coffee table next to his computer.

_Today was the largest decline we’ve seen yet. I was called in during the early hours of the morning by one of the nurses who reported that he was wailing in complete and utter agony. I had thought it to be an exaggeration, but confirmed her description upon arrival. It almost sounded like Max was being tortured, it sounded like half the group was being tortured. Our first attempt to sedate him almost completely failed, only reducing his pain mildly._

_By the time that we were able to give him a stronger dosage to calm him, Max had bitten so harshly into his lower lip that he’d managed to split it open and blood was running down his chin. The bite was so severe that we had to administer stitches while he was sedated._

_The nurses attempted to feed him once he’d been stabilized, but he refused after only a few bites. They shared with me that he’d been eating only very little or nothing at all over the past few days much to my own displeasure._

_March 18: My hopes that we’d be able to find a cure or keep Max and the other patients adequately sedated were crushed when I walked into the hospital this morning. The patient had been in such unbearable pain that he’d taken to scratching at his arms and legs out of both frustration and a desire for it all to stop. The gouges were so deep and harsh that we were forced to restrain his bloody hands just so that we could stop him from harming himself further._

_Pictures were taken of the state that he was in and have been attached for future reference._

Tim nearly choked and tripped over his own feet as he raced to the bathroom. He slammed the toilet seat up and painfully dry-heaved a handful of times before he was sure that he wasn’t about to get sick. His breathing was still labored when the moment passed and he leaned his head against the edge of the bathtub and closed his eyes to give himself time to calm down and focus on the cool sensation against his cheek.

He’d been stitched up more times than he could count, had scars littering his body, had seen people take bullets, had taken bullets himself, had broken bones, and gotten bones broken, but he’d never thought that someone could be in so much pain as to do _that_ to themself. It left him shuddering as the image flashed through his mind again.

He was distantly aware of his phone ringing from the living room, but couldn’t bring himself to get up and go answer it. He needed time to collect his thoughts and just be alone without having to worry about anyone else. He needed time to accept that the reports and the pictures that he’d just been reading through had a high chance of being in his future. He just hoped that he’d be lucky enough that the not-so-good doctor/scientist had been competent enough to adequately improve whatever technology that he’d used on him and Jason.

The reminder that this could happen to Jason too made him painfully aware that Jason’s mark was still sitting on his hip. He was branded with it, just as Jason was branded with his. The fact that he wasn’t alone in this whole fucked-up situation should’ve made him feel better about it all, but it just left him curling tighter into a ball against the bathtub, hoping for once that he could block out the rest of the world.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the bathroom when he heard the window in his living room get pushed open. He tensed, trying to determine who it was, but a familiar voice had him relaxing back against the cool surface of the tub when it rang out.

“Tim! Tim, what the fuck happened? Why didn’t you answer your phone? Fuck, where _are_ you?!” he called.

“I’m in here,” he called, voice sounding stronger than he thought it would.

Jason was standing in the doorway to the bathroom in a matter of seconds and Tim lifted his head from where it was resting to look up at him. His chest was moving rapidly as he worked to catch his breath. He’d managed to put on his leather jacket, but his hair was mussed and Tim was pretty sure that his shirt was on backwards.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” he asked, walking over to him and kneeling down.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t find the energy to get back up. I needed a minute and it was all the way over in the living room.”

Jason looked between where he was sitting and the toilet. “Did you get sick?”

“Thankfully, no. But I seriously thought that I was going to be.”

“Did you eat something bad or what? I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be the type of person to blow chunks.”

“And I haven’t really, but this…got to me.”

Jason cocked his head and moved to sit down so that his back was leaning against the cabinets underneath the sink and he could watch Tim. “What do you mean?”

“Well I was looking through the patient records and found the one that I’d been looking for. I knew that I just needed the name of the doctor, but next to his name it said that the patient was deceased.”

Jason sucked in a breath.

“I thought that it would be no big deal from there, but then I started reading the patient notes…” Tim propped his elbow on the edge of the bathtub and tangled his fingers into his hair so that he could grip the strands. He stared at whatever was in front of him, not really seeing what was there as he recounted the new information. “He was connected to other patients like we are, but his pain only got worse as his condition deteriorated. He eventually had to be sedated pretty much 24/7 and what I found that set me off was that one morning when the meds wore off, the pain was so excruciating that he scratched gouges in his arms and his legs.”

“I’ll admit that does sound pretty bad, but aren’t you pretty good at handling gore? We’re both vigilantes, it’s not like we haven’t seen our fair share of it.”

“Yeah, I am. But I guess it was just the thought that the technology used on him is what’s connecting the two of us and if it were to get that bad…”

“Don’t worry.”

Tim glanced over at Jason who was watching him, expression determined.

“I’m sure that he developed whatever he’s been using further and that what’s been used to link us isn’t the same as back then. And with your brain and my brawn, we’ll find him in no time and get this shitty thing taken care of.”

“You mean your ability to threaten people at gunpoint and then shoot them if they don’t answer your questions?” Tim asked, lips quirking up into a smile which Jason returned.

“Exactly.” Jason’s smile fell from his lips. “Do you think we should go to everyone else with this now that you’ve found those records?”

Tim shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re just records, but…”

“We’re strong and you’re smart. We’ll have this figured out in no time.”

“Thanks, Jay.”

Jason waved away the comment and pushed himself to his feet before offering a hand to Tim who took it gladly and got pulled to his feet.

“I’ll see you around then, Tim,” Jason gave him a two-finger salute and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

“What?” he asked, looking over his shoulder, obviously confused.

“Just one thing. Your shirt’s on backwards,” Tim said, snickering.

Jason’s eyes went wide and he looked down at his shirt before groaning. “Jesus fuck.”

“You can fix it before you leave if you want.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled, shoving Tim out of the bathroom so that he could shut the door.

Tim smiled and shook his head, amused. Maybe they really could get through this on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll appreciate all the love and support you can give over this fic because I'm super excited where we're going. :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm legit so excited for this update so I hope y'all are ready!!!! I LOVE THIS FIC. 
> 
> Also, sorry about the delay on the chapter. There were a good two weeks in the middle of May where I wasn't writing any of my fic updates so everything got pushed back because I was studying for finals and getting all my shit packed up for the transition back to the States. 
> 
> Anyway, enough about my life that you probably don't care about. 
> 
> Enjoy!!!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim settled back down in front of the couch after Jason left with his newly fixed shirt. They made an agreement to meet up later that night on patrol and go over anything that might come up during their individual patrol or during Tim’s continued research. He took a sip of his coffee and returned to the medical records that had upset him so much earlier. He scrolled past the pictures quickly, not wanting to get another look at them. He was reaching the end of the record for Max and becoming increasingly confused as to why he hadn’t yet encountered a name for the doctor.

_March 20: We’ve been given a warning to shut down the program now that things aren’t looking positive for the patients. Max’s condition has continued to get worse. We’re forced to keep him restrained for fear of him harming himself further. The wounds on his legs and arms are still very raw and we are taking great precautions to keep them from becoming infected. He’s no longer eating and refuses to drink water. Even the saline drip isn’t enough._

_March 25: The project has failed. Everything is over. During the night Max managed to free himself from his restraints. He rushed through the hospital and made it to the roof without being caught. When the nurses realized that he was missing it was already too late. His body was collected from the pavement in front of the hospital and taken down to the basement to the morgue. His family will be contacted later today. Elena has stripped his room and gathered the few things that were brought for him during his stay in the hospital for collection._

_End notes. – Three_

Tim frowned and scrolled back up to the top of the patient file. There was no name for the doctor. No clue as to which of the five doctors had worked with this specific patient. That meant that this was just going to be another dead end. He skipped back down to the last entry that was made. There had to be something else that he could use. Had to be someone else. If he couldn’t get a lead on the doctor immediately, there must be someone else who worked in conjunction with him who could possibly know his whereabouts or someone who had an idea of where he went after the hospital was shut down.

“Wait a minute…” Tim frowned and read the last note again. “Elena. Who’s Elena? She couldn’t be one of the doctors, especially if the rest of them were being as secretive about their identities as this guy.”

He drummed his fingers on the table and took another sip of his coffee, holding the warm cup close to his chest. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, mind furiously trying to find a new lead in this whole mess.

“Five doctors employed and three of them had specializations in pediatrics. They weren’t in the hospital all the time since Three was called in when Max’s condition deteriorated. Three had updates given to him by the nurses… Holy shit the nurses!!!”

Tim lurched forward, nearly spilling his coffee in an effort to set it down and navigate back to the employment records at the same time. He scrolled through them quickly, muttering under his breath the entire time.

“There!” He stopped on the employee record for the only nurse named Elena. “Elena Greenfield. Employment terminated after the hospital shut down. Didn’t apply for the transfer to the new hospital. Recommendation given for a job at a nursing home called Sacred Oaks.” Tim pulled up her address and personal information. He made a note of the address of her apartment and cross-referenced it with the DMV finding it to be the same even after all these years.

He leaned back against the couch and smiled feeling relief flood through him. “Looks like we have a visit to pay tonight after all.” It might not prove to be the greatest lead that he could’ve found, but it was a start and he was sure that Jason would be happy with anything to go on. And if this gave them a little bit better of an idea of who exactly they were dealing with and what the connection between him and Jason might mean then that was all the better.

Tim saved his files and exited out of the records for the hospital. His work was done for the moment, but he was more than ready to get out and patrol. He wanted answers and he wasn’t about to let this nurse go without giving him something to go on.

~~

Tim stood on top of his apartment, the wind whipped at his cap as he activated his comm and patched into the frequency that he and Jason had been sharing during their patrols on their missions together. He was glad that they’d set up a separate channel for the two of them now that they had a few things to keep under wraps from everyone else.

Jason answered almost immediately.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve got a lead worth checking out if you’re interested.”

“If it has to do with our little scientist friend then I’m more than just a little interested. Where do you want to meet?”

“I just got suited up and we’re going to have to head to the other side of the city for this, but if you’re near the theater that would be best.”

“All the way over there, huh? You’re starting to worry me with what you found.”

Tim listened to Jason as he ran across the rooftops and pulled his grapple from his belt to swing over a few streets. “It’s nothing too bad. Yet. I hope. After you left this afternoon I went back to the patient files, but I couldn’t find the name of the doctor that was working with Max.”

“Sounds like our jobs are going to be super easy then,” he grumbled.

“I know and that’s what I thought when I found that out. But I do have the name of a nurse.”

“A nurse?”

“Specifically the nurse who worked closely with Max, but more importantly, Max’s _doctor_.”

“So we just need to get this nurse to open up a little bit and talk to us about when she was in the hospital,” Jason finished as he landed on the opposite side of the theater from Tim.

“Exactly,” Tim said, nodding.

“So where do we go to find this nurse? And are we paying a friendly visit? Or can I get a little…you know?” Jason asked.

“Keep the guns holstered for now, Hood. She’s a middle-aged nurse. We don’t want to frighten her too bad.”

“No promises if she doesn’t end up cooperating. Now are we going or what?” Jason asked, gesturing behind him.

“You don’t even know where we’re going, but yes we’re going,” Tim said walking past him. “And I’m pretty sure that she’s going to cooperate. Like I said, she’s a middle-aged nurse. Middle-aged nurses aren’t used to vigilantes showing up in their apartments.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just get going,” Jason said, pulling out his grapple.

Tim ran ahead of him and pulled his own grapple from his belt. He shot off a line before jumping off the edge of the building and letting himself become weightless. It was always a wonderful feeling when he got to let go even when he was chasing after criminals.

Jason stuck close to him as they crossed rooftops and headed for a worse part of town where the streets cleared out once darkness began to fall and only the people who were really up to no good came out. Once they’d crossed the invisible border dividing this section of the city from the rest of it, it wasn’t long before they reached the three story apartment building. It was looking worse for wear and could do with an upgrade and several repairs, but when you didn’t have much money and were looking for someplace cheap, it was the place to go.

Tim landed lightly on the rusting fire escape and made his way down to the second floor without a sound and Jason followed just as quietly behind him. The lights were on in Elena’s apartment and he could see her working in the small kitchen with her back to them. He pushed up on the window easily. The wood had been worn enough that it didn’t make any noise and the lock was broken. She probably didn’t trust anyone to come and fix it. Or perhaps she just didn’t know. He slipped inside with Jason behind him and waited.

Elena hummed something as she began to turn around, no doubt heading for the couch so she could watch some T.V. with her dinner. She didn’t make it far before she was gasping and staggering backwards to clutch at the countertop, miraculously keeping a hold on her food and setting the bowl on the counter. She reached for the chef’s knife in the block next to the stove and pointed it at them.

“Who-who are you?” she asked, voice shaky with nerves.

“I’m Red Robin. That’s Red Hood. We’ve come to ask you a few questions,” Tim answered easily, ignoring the knife she was holding.

“Why-why? What for? What do you want?”

“We want answers,” Jason growled, crossing his arms.

“What he means is that we’d like to know about the connection you have with the old hospital and a certain doctor who worked at it.”

Elena blanched as the knife fell from her hand only to become lodged in the floor. Tim almost winced as he watched it sway back and forth. If her foot had been a little farther forward…

She sighed and rubbed at her face. “I was really starting to believe that no one was going to come looking. Or hoping that they wouldn’t come looking for me.”

“Then you know exactly what we have questions about,” Tim said.

She nodded. “The experiment. If you’re looking for the doctor who I worked with then he be at work yet again.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Jason growled.

“Hood,” Tim warned. “Yes. He’s been testing out his technology and we’re trying to stop him. We don’t know if it’s the exact same as he was using in the hospital or something that’s been developed further, but we need some information on how to find him.”

“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll have a seat on my couch before getting started. It’s a long story. And not a pleasant one at that,” Elena said, moving into the living room.

“From the evidence that we’ve already found, the fact that it’s not pretty has become obvious,” Jason said, sarcasm thick in his tone.

Tim rolled his eyes. He knew that Jason wanted answers. He did too, but he could help make this a little easier for them all.

“When I was hired at the hospital, I thought that it would be a great opportunity. That was before I was briefed in what was actually happening, of course. I’d finally found a job that had steady pay and the benefits were phenomenal for such a small place of work. And soon enough, I realized why they were offering so much to the employees who were hired.

“We were sworn to secrecy. Phones and any other items that may have recorded what was going on behind the walls were strictly prohibited. They took such extreme measures that we had to go through metal detectors each time we went into work. Some days we didn’t even leave the hospital because we didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of getting back in. And if someone was even suspected of trying to smuggle information or evidence out… But that’s another story and not the information you came here for.

“Someone, I don’t know who, was funding a new research project. A development in what would happen if people were able to be connected by pain and how that could help reduce violence and improve the state of the world. It would offer a support network for people who might not have anyone else to turn to even if they weren’t interacting directly. The initial results were astounding. Things were going incredibly well and the kids were responding in such a positive way that we were hopeful of where the project would be taken.

“The patients quickly came to understand what it meant to be connected to each other and developed a certain sense of group empathy. The children who were paired together often stuck close and became incredible friends to the point the nurses had trouble convincing them to sleep in separate rooms. But…”

“Things took a turn for the worse when it came to the actual conditions of the children,” Tim supplied.

Elena looked at him, surprised, but nodded. “That’s right. And it wasn’t just a bump in the road to progress, things became horrible and intolerable. The rest of the nurses and I quickly came to the end of our ropes. Often, we couldn’t bear to be around the kids. I don’t know how many nurses I had to try and console when they lost it at work. It was an incredibly difficult time for all of us.

“What happened was that half of the patients continued to take on more and more pain. It got to the point where they weren’t able to have a moment of peace or a reprieve. Even the slightest brush of a blanket could be enough to leave them screaming and whimpering in bed. Many of the children scratched and harmed themselves in the hopes that it would make the pain stop. It never did.”

“How did you stop it?” Tim asked.

“The doctors in charge, and Three of course, were trying to do everything in their power to reverse the process or fix it in some way. They were reluctant to break the bonds because they didn’t want all that work to go to waste. They didn’t want to lose all the hope that they’d put into the project. It wasn’t until Max passed that they deemed the project a failure. They didn’t want any of the other children to go as Max had.”

“So the administration waited until Max killed himself before doing anything to stop the experiment?” Tim asked. He saw Jason tense next to him, but ignored it for the moment.

Elena closed her eyes, looking incredibly weary. “That’s right.”

Tim opened his mouth to respond when he felt a wave of anger wash through him suddenly. The feeling was so strong and unexpected that he had to restrain himself from taking a step backwards.

“So you just let a child die? You did nothing to prevent him from bringing an end to his own life?” Jason growled, hands clenching around his biceps to keep himself from lashing out.

“We tried!” she protested. “We kept each of the children in their rooms, but he got past us. He made it up to the roof before we even realized that he was missing and then…”

“And then he jumped,” Tim finished softly. “What happened to the other half of the patients? We’ve gotten no information on them and only know the unbearable pain experienced by the group Max was included in.”

Elena blanched where she sat making her look far older and more haggard than someone of her age would appear. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jason interrupted.

“And don’t lie to us.”

She closed her mouth and swallowed before nodding. “The other group… The exact opposite happened to them. Where Max was continually taking on pain, the other group lost their ability to feel pain. It got to the point where they could probably take a bullet and not feel a thing and end up bleeding out by accident because they wouldn’t have the pain signals to tell them that something was wrong and that they needed help.”

“That’s not all is it?” Tim asked. “There’s more you’re not telling us.”

“It didn’t stop at just feeling pain. They lost their ability to _feel_ altogether.”

“You mean like their sense of touch?” Jason asked.

Elena shook her head. “No. They no longer experienced emotion or it was very hard for them to. They wouldn’t laugh or cry or get angry. There was just nothing. They could sit in bed all day and stare at the wall and just not feel anything. Where Max had to be force-fed because of how much pain he was in, these kids had to be fed because they wouldn’t feel hunger and wouldn’t understand their need to eat.”

Tim swallowed as silence descended on the apartment. His earlier nausea was quickly returning now that they’d gotten some new information about the experiment. He glanced at Jason where he was standing next to him. His posture was rigid and his nails would’ve been digging into his arms if he hadn’t been wearing gloves and a jacket. He was angry. He was beyond angry and Tim couldn’t blame him for that.

“One last question,” Tim began, glad that his voice didn’t shake with how his stomach was rolling at the moment. “Where can we find Three? If you don’t know where, then who is he? Give us a name.”

Elena’s gaze slid to the side before flicking back to them. “His real name is Robert Anderson. The one that he gave to the parents of the patients was a fake so that things couldn’t be traced back to him. I don’t know if he went on to the new hospital or not once our project was shut down. He was pretty tight-lipped about any personal information and I wasn’t even supposed to know his actual identity. But since he was one of the most involved doctors I’m going to take a wild guess, especially since you two are here, and say that he broke off and started pursuing his own avenue of research.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Jason growled.

“Thank you, Elena. That’s all we needed to know,” Tim turned to leave, but Jason stopped him.

“You can’t be serious, Red!” he protested.

“Serious about what?” Tim asked.

“Just leaving after we learned all that. This woman hurt a group of kids!”

“I was just doing what I was told!” she protested. “As soon as we were put under contract for employment, we weren’t allowed to leave. There was no way out until the project was shut down and nothing that I could’ve done!”

“Nothing you could’ve done?” Jason asked, disbelief heavy in his tone. “You could’ve stopped Max from killing himself for one thing! That’s what you could’ve done. You’re just-“

“Hood!” Tim said sharply, grabbing onto his arm to stop him.

Jason’s jaw clenched but he turned his head to look at Tim which was a small victory in his book.

“Let’s go,” Tim said, tugging gently at his arm. Jason stayed where he was and looked over at Elena one last time.

“Fine,” he hissed and let Tim lead him over to the window. The two of them climbed back out and hurried up to the roof. Tim followed after Jason as he sprinted several rooftops away before finally stopping and clenching his hands at his sides once before letting them relax.

Tim sighed and rubbed at his forehead, thinking over all of the information that they’d just gathered. His nausea was still hanging on and he wanted nothing more than to just go back to his apartment and crawl in bed to try and ignore all of this. He was worried. He could admit that to himself. The one positive that had come with the rest of the shit that had been thrown at them was that they finally had a name to go with their lovely scientist friend.

“You going to be okay, Tim?”

Jason’s voice had his eyes snapping open to look up at him. He’d moved closer from where he’d been standing on the other side of the rooftop. If the helmet hadn’t been in the way, Tim knew that he would be scrutinizing him at the moment.

“Names in the field, Hood. And…I’ll have to be, won’t I? No matter how I’m feeling about this whole situation we still need to get this case finished and take down both the kidnapping ring and the technology that our scientist is so heavily involved in.”

Jason shook his head. “That stuff’s important, but you need to take care of yourself. I got kind of caught up in my anger after learning what happened to all of those kids, but now that I’ve had a moment to calm down I can see that the information has a strong impact on us and how we operate. We’re going to have to be careful when it comes to fights and make sure that we don’t sustain any major injuries. I know up until this point we were willing to simply go our separate ways and see what we could come up with, but I’m not so sure that’s the right decision anymore.”

Tim crossed his arms against his chest, trying to find comfort in himself. “What do you think is going to happen? He must’ve improved his technology, right? The same thing isn’t going to happen to us, is it?”

He knew that he was showing his weakness. Showing how vulnerable he felt with this whole whirlwind of information and shit storm that he’d gotten caught up in with Jason. He wondered where his usual stoic façade and demeanor had gone. He never let his inner thoughts loose when he was with his partners. Or even when he was in the field period.

Tim nearly squawked when Jason grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a rough hug.

“No. It’s not going to happen to us. Because we’re going to find this guy and we’re going to take him down before that can even happen. And if he’s been working on this for a few years already then it’s got to be improved over what those kids had to deal with. We’re going to be fine, Tim. I promise.”

“Names, Hood,” Tim whispered quietly even as he let his head come to rest on Jason’s chest and wound his arms around his back. Tim thought that Jason probably needed this kind of comfort as much as he did. The path ahead of them wasn’t going to be an easy one, but when was being a vigilante ever easy?

“Come on,” Jason said, pulling away. “It’s still early and I want to get some more runs in before I have to head back. If you want to tag along we can cover both your route and mine a lot faster.”

Tim smiled. “Sure thing.”

The two of them bounded across the rooftop and slowly began making their way across the city. Tim could handle this situation. As much as it scared him and worried him, he wasn’t alone. And despite all of the complications that might bring, he was grateful to have Jason standing tall with him. Maybe once this was all over they could team up on more cases. As long as they didn’t have crazy scientists and weird technology that could possibly kill them, that is.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super psyched for this chapter!!!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim yawned as his alarm blared in his ear. He flung his hand around to turn it off and smacked the table. He hit the edge of his phone and launched it into his face because that was his life.

“Son of a bitch!” Tim gasped, clutching at his nose. His alarm was still screaming at him from where it landed on his pillow. He flailed around in bed as the pain slowly faded and the sound of his ringtone drowned out his alarm.

He reached for it and answered without looking at the caller ID.

“Hewwo?” he asked, voiced muffled by his hands.

“What the hell are you doing this early in the morning? I didn’t ask for a wakeup call! Damn, what did you do?” Jason spat over the phone.

“I di-in’t dowit on purpose!” he objected. “M’ phone ‘it me in the face.”

“Well can you not do that? And what’s wrong with your voice?”

“Shut it!” Tim hissed, taking his hands from his nose. He sat up and picked up his phone. “And I told you, I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just trying to turn off my alarm not launch a cellular attack on my nose.”

“Well it’s too early! Why are you up so early and not sleeping?!” he asked.

Tim rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I need to do more research on Robert Anderson. We’re not just going to magically track him down. There is still work involved. Or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten. But you could’ve slept in a little longer. At least until you’re not in danger of hurting yourself by turning off your alarm.”

“It’s too late, I’m already awake and now I need to fill my veins with coffee. You can go back to sleep all you like, but I have work to do.” He shuffled out of the bedroom and toward his kitchen.

“You’re going to kill yourself doing this one day,” Jason grumbled. “And it’s too late. You’ve woken me up past the point of going back to sleep.”

Tim snorted as he started the coffee pot. “I highly doubt that. I’m sure you have impeccable napping abilities and will be able to pass out again as soon as you hang up.”

“That may be true, but who knows what other trouble you’re going to get in now that you’re awake? I’d rather not get woken up as rudely as I just was.”

“If I promise not to intentionally hurt myself will that put you at ease?”

“Nope!” Jason answered cheerfully.

“Why not?”

“Because you end up doing lots of things even if you don’t do them on purpose. I’m surprised you haven’t been locked in a padded room for your own safety yet. I for sure would’ve thought that Dick would’ve attempted that at some point.”

“Who says they haven’t tried?” Tim asked, grinning.

“Wait…have they really? Wait…do I even want to know the answer to that?”

“I don’t know? Do you?” Tim pulled down a clean mug and threw in a spoonful of sugar and splash of creamer as the pot finished.

“I’m not sure if I’d like the answer or not,” Jason mused.

“You probably wouldn’t,” Tim said, taking a sip of his coffee and sighing happily. Now he could really get to work. The caffeine hadn’t kicked in yet, but the fact that he knew it was coming was going to make everything easier. He sat down on his couch and powered up his laptop, setting his coffee on one side of his computer and he put his phone on speaker before setting it on the other side.

“You’re about to start ignoring me in favor of working, aren’t you?” Jason asked.

“Now what makes you think that?” Tim asked innocently.

“Because I can hear the sounds of you tapping away on your computer and that means your research has begun.” He sighed and it crackled through the speaker. “Have fun looking up information about our new favorite person. Let me know what you find. And don’t try to hurt yourself. I’d rather limit the amount of rude awakenings I have to deal with from you.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t speak too soon.”

“Speak too soon? I haven’t once accidentally hurt myself since we’ve had this link!”

“Yes, well…” Tim grumbled because he couldn’t very well argue Jason’s point.

Jason snickered. “I’ll let you get back to this all important research that you’re quickly going to become obsessed with. Text me if you find anything. And don’t hurt yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tim muttered, ending the call before Jason could say anything else.

He pulled up the website for the new hospital that had been built when the old one was shut down. He hacked into the system quickly, finding few safeguards this time around. It looked like they didn’t expect many people to come looking through their records, but common criminals usually didn’t spend time hacking into hospital databases. And those who wanted to actually get into the hospitals did so for other reasons and didn’t waste time when they could just go in with a gun and get their way.

Tim pulled up the employee records, bypassing the added level of security put in front of them and got in easily. Unlike his experience with the last hospital, there was nothing hidden in the interface that was trying to hack him back to get his location and personal information. Not that Tim was going to let them get in that easily even if they did.

“So they obviously didn’t transfer the program to this new place,” he said, voice barely a whisper.

It made sense since it was deemed a failure at the last hospital. The people who had funded it probably didn’t want to experience a similar scandal or didn’t want to have to deal with the level of secrecy around the patients that they’d had to set up before. It would’ve been more risky operating in the new hospital with the size of it and the influx of patients and employees that were brought in. More questions would’ve been asked. There would’ve been a bigger chance of someone stumbling into something that they weren’t supposed to know anything about and leaking confidential information if they couldn’t be stopped.

Tim scrolled through the employee records, quickly scanning the names and already suspecting what he would find there. Or what he wouldn’t find there. Rather than having to scroll through each employee name, he was able to search through the entirety of the records. He typed in ‘Robert Anderson’ and wasn’t surprised when nothing came back on him.

He leaned back against the couch to give himself a minute to think. He hadn’t known if Anderson had actually made the transfer to the new hospital when he’d started gathering information. That had merely been an assumption on his part. One that seemed foolish at that point with everything else that they’d learned.

Tim opened the file that he’d saved of the records from the original hospital. He scrolled through them, but still couldn’t find his file even with the new name.

“What the fuck?” he growled. He was sorely tempted to throw his computer across the room. And then he was horrified that he’d even allowed himself to have that thought.

“Okay, okay,” Tim said, trying to calm himself down. “So his file isn’t listed in the hospital records. I can work around that, no big deal. I just have to get a little more creative which shouldn’t be a problem because I’m fucking Tim Drake and I can do whatever the hell I want because no firewall can stop me and now I sound like a complete idiot talking to myself. Jesus, what is going on with me?!”

He ran a hand through his hair roughly. “At least I can content myself with the fact that there’s no one here to witness this… That would just be embarrassing. Jason would probably never let this one go. It would just give him more of a basis for why I should be locked in a padded room and never let out.”

Tim drummed his fingers on the tabletop and sighed. “I guess the least I can do is start with a generic search for this guy. Maybe I’ll get lucky and actually stumble upon something without having to do much legwork.”

He opened a new tab and pulled up a search engine before quickly typing in Anderson’s name. The results were a little slow to load and Tim took the chance to get up from his spot and refill his mug with more coffee. When he sat back down, he took a sip and started scrolling through the results.

Several Facebook pages had been brought up, along with Twitter profiles and LinkedIn pages. There was even a news article, but it was a recent post about some high school athlete that was definitely not relevant to what he was looking for unless their scientist had somehow managed to de-age himself or really was some sort of young genius with a penchant for crime. But he doubted that since he would’ve had to deal with the parents of the patients and that would raise more questions on their part.

Tim slowly sifted through the social media profiles and was nearly ready to give up before he delved too deep. Where white vans were the bane of every detective’s existence on the street, generic social media profiles were the bane of every detective’s existence when working to find someone online. He didn’t know how those people on _Catfish_ did it. Well he did, but they had something more to go on. He’d like to see them try and track down some weird evil scientist on the internet.

Tim stared at the third Twitter page on his screen, not really seeing it as his mind worked. He was trying to decide whether or not the guy they were looking for would be honest, or somewhat honest, about his profession online. And if he would even have a social media profile. Him and Jason knew next to nothing about their guy and had no tells on any of his habits. They didn’t even know if he was married or if he had kids.

He was really regretting not grilling Elena more about Anderson. Although, due to the level of secrecy that they were all operating under, she probably wouldn’t have any of the answers that they were looking for and they didn’t exactly have it narrowed down to a few people where they could justify having her go through photos with her to try and ID him.

Tim grabbed his phone from the table while he used his other hand to navigate to the DMV website. He sent a quick text to Jason before he started to bypass their system again to search for any driving records that might exist.

_Tim: I’ve got nothing concrete on Anderson. There was no employee file from the hospital and there are too many social media profiles to even narrow it down and that’s assuming he made one in some form or fashion._

He searched for the good ol’ doctor in the system and wasn’t surprised by how many names popped up. He didn’t think he’d ever understand the popularity of the name. Especially in Gotham. Why couldn’t they get lucky for once and have to look for someone who has a totally unique name? That wasn’t an alias anyway.

Tim exited out of the DMV website with a shake of his head. His phone vibrated and he checked the reply that Jason sent.

_Jason: Of course that’s just our luck. Why can’t these guys be easy to track for once????_

_Tim: You took the words right out of my mouth._

_Jason: Whatever. I can ask around on the streets tonight after I take down this gang that’s been making trouble._

_Tim: Need any backup?_

_Jason: Nah, I’ve dealt with these guys before and as soon as the blood starts flowing and bones start breaking, they turn tail and run. Shouldn’t be a big deal._

_Tim: Got it._

_Tim: That sounds like some parody of Smash Mouth. ‘Well the blood starts flowing and the bones start breaking…’_

_Jason: I’m not sure that I will ever understand you…_

_Tim: Whatever._

He set his phone to the side and closed out of all of his files. There wasn’t much more that he’d be able to do until they had some info on where to find Anderson. And they still needed to shut down the trafficking ring that he was involved in. And he definitely wasn’t about to find anything about that on the internet. It looked like him and Jason were in for a lot of footwork on patrol.

~~

“Red Robin.”

Tim paused before retracting the cable for his grapple gun. He turned to face Bruce who was standing on the rooftop, hidden in shadow as was his practice.

“Batman,” he said, nodding before putting his grapple back in his belt. “Is there something that you need?”

“Have you managed to shut down that trafficking ring yet?”

“Red Hood and I are working on it. We’re both going to see what anyone on the streets might know about it, but tracking them down again might take a while since they know that we’re watching. We’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”

He nodded. “Try and get that cleared up as quickly as possible.”

“We will. It shouldn’t take too long-“ Tim gasped and clutched his side when the most intense pain crashed through him. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe through what felt like was his side being ripped open.

“Red Robin!” Bruce exclaimed, hurrying over to grab onto his shoulder. “Red Robin, what happened? What’s wrong?”

Tim opened and closed his mouth, trying to get the words out. He knew something had happened to Jason. He just didn’t know what. He had to find him. He had to make sure that he was okay and that he wasn’t bleeding out in some alleyway because if what he was feeling was anything to go by, then Jason was probably experiencing something so much worse.

“I…he…” he gasped.

“Who? Who did this? Red Robin?”

A second wave of pain crashed over him. His body felt like it was being crushed under a building. Tim clutched his head as he fell to his knees, despite Bruce’s efforts to keep him on his feet. His vision wavered and he was worried that he was going to pass out, but he knew that he had to find Jason first. He had to make sure that he wasn’t hurt too badly and that he was alive.

He tried to open his mouth again to speak and explain the situation but as soon as he did, he felt bile rise up in his throat and he just barely managed to turn his body away in time to keep from vomiting all over Bruce’s boots.

“We need to get you back to the Cave,” Bruce said urgently. He tried pulling Tim to his feet but he just shook his head.

“No,” he gasped. The pain wasn’t subsiding and he wasn’t quite ready to admit that that worried him. A lot.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I have to find him.”

“Find who?”

“Jason,” he said, swallowing around another wave of nausea. “He’s in trouble. I have to find him. He might be dying. He might already be dead.”

“Names, Red Robin. How do you know he’s in trouble?” Bruce asked.

“Later. I need to find him first. He’s in trouble,” he said again.

Bruce brought up a hand to his cowl and Tim had to close his eyes to take steady breaths. If he was in this much pain, then he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what kind of shape Jason was in.

“Nightwing go find Red Hood. Red Robin and I have reason to believe that he’s in trouble. When you find him, bring him to the Cave. Red Robin will be there waiting for him.”

Tim shook his head. He knew that he couldn’t go and wait in the Cave. He had to find Jason. He couldn’t leave him alone.

“Let’s go, Red Robin. We need to get you to the Cave and have you looked over.”

Tim shook his head again. He needed to stand up, but his body felt so heavy. He didn’t know how he was going to move. “I have to go to him.”

“Nightwing is with him. He’s going to bring him to the Cave and you need to go, too.”

“No,” Tim said and struggled to his feet. His legs were shaky, but managed to hold after a minute. It was going to be slow going, but he knew that he could make it to Jason. He just needed to move. He took deep breaths as he stepped forward and straightened. The world moved beneath him and he felt himself fall, unable to do anything more than close his eyes and wait for the impact to come.

~~

Tim felt himself slowly come to. He fought against the darkness and the fatigue. As awareness came back, he noticed how heavy his limbs felt. He’d never quite understood what people meant when they said they felt like they’d gotten hit by a bus, but he couldn’t think of a more apt description in that moment. He brought a hand up to clutch at his head when a throb went through it.

He blinked his eyes open and was met with impossibly bright lights and it took him a few seconds to get his vision to clear. When he did he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the Cave. He didn’t remember coming back there. He’d been talking to Bruce on patrol when-

Tim gasped and sat up, having to close his eyes as his vision swam from the sudden movement. He didn’t think that he should be feeling such intense side effects when he hadn’t been hurt, but they still didn’t know a great deal about how the connection worked. When it cleared he looked down and made to pull out the IV in his arm when a pair of hands stopped his actions.

“Woah, Tim! Calm down, little bro.”

He looked up and found Dick standing over me. He shook his head and made to pull it out again, but Dick stopped him. “I have to find Jason. He’s in trouble. He-“

“Tim, calm down. Jason’s fine. Well…he will be anyway. He was in pretty bad shape when I found him, but Alfred worked his magic and after a bit of time recuperating, he’ll be good as knew.”

Tim pulled against where Dick was still holding onto his hands. “Where is he? I have to see him! I have to…”

Dick’s smile had him trailing off in the middle of his sentence. “If you’ll look to your right, you’ll see he’s right there.”

He looked to the side and found Jason looking peaceful and asleep. The machines around him beeped and his chest rose softly with each breath. He could make out some scratches across his face, but couldn’t see much else with the hospital gown and blanket covering him.

Tim felt himself sag with relief at the sight, his fatigue making itself more apparent now that he wasn’t stressed. Jason was alive. As worried as he’d been the night before, he was going to be okay. They were both going to be okay.

Sensing that he wasn’t going to put up much of a fight anymore, Dick released his hands and stood back.

“He was unresponsive when I found him, but alive. If he’d been left alone too long he probably would’ve ended up dead. I’m surprised you knew that he was in trouble. I don’t think anyone would’ve known that something was wrong for a long time.”

Tim flushed and clutched at the blanket that was covering his legs. “Well, that’s…you see…I…”

“Yes, I would also like to know how exactly it was that you knew Jason was in trouble.”

Tim swallowed and looked up as Bruce walked over to him. He’d changed out of his uniform and Tim wondered how long he’d been out and how late in the morning it was for them all to be back at the Manor.

“Look, I don’t really know how to explain it. I guess I just had this hunch that something was wrong and that we needed to find him to make sure that he was okay...” Tim trailed off at the unimpressed look that Bruce was giving him and he cleared his throat before glancing away.

“You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?” Bruce asked and crossed his arms. “Especially with how you reacted?”

“I…” Tim was at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to explain it without telling them what had happened.

“Tim…”

His head whipped around at the sound of that familiar voice, even if it was a bit gravelly and tired. He looked at Jason’s tired eyes that were now open and looking at him.

“Babybird, I think it’s time that we come clean.”

Tim sighed and closed his eyes before nodding. “Okay.”

He turned back to look at Bruce and Dick. Bruce looked rather serious, not that that was any surprise. He was pretty much always serious and Dick had narrowed his eyes like he suspected something. Tim wasn’t sure if he was ready to know just what was going through his mind.

“There’s something that we have to tell you.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super excited to finally get this chapter out! As always, I'm in love with this fic and enjoy writing it so much!
> 
> If you weren't aware, this week has been jaytimweek and I have 5 new fics posted so when you're done with this and if you want some more sweet jaytim goodness from me, there's some new stuff to read! ^.^
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

“The two of you aren’t dating are you?!” Dick exclaimed, going pale.

Tim gaped at him and tried to get his mouth to form some sort of explanation to kill that thought immediately.

Jason sighed heavily. “God just let me pass out again so I don’t have to deal with this bullshit. No, Dick we aren’t dating. And if you gave Tim enough time to actually explain what happened that fact would become clear pretty fast.”

Bruce cleared his throat. “So what happened exactly?”

Tim sighed heavily and stared down at where his hands were fisted in his lap. “You know that we’ve been working on that human trafficking case, right? Well, a few days ago, we were pretty sure that we tracked down the guy who’s behind it all. Someone who works for him, if not him, got the jump on us and knocked us out. When we woke up we were strapped down to these tables in the old abandoned hospital.”

He glanced up to make sure that everyone was still with him before continuing. “Well, the scientist behind it told us that Jason and I were now connected by our pain and that everything either of us felt would be shared.”

“What do you mean you’re connected by your pain?” Dick interrupted.

“He means exactly that,” Jason grumbled.

“It’s how I knew that Jason was hurt last night,” Tim supplied. “When he was…what happened to you exactly?”

“Let’s see…after I took down the gang I was going after, I had a tail following me. They got a shot into my side which made me lose control of my bike and because of that, I slid into the side of a brick building,” Jason rattled off.

Tim winced. “That explains why the pain was so intense that I vomited then.”

“You vomited?!” Jason asked, moving to sit up, but quickly winced and fell back to the bed with a hiss.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad,” Tim said with a sigh.

“So when Jason was hurt last night, you felt all of that?” Dick asked.

“Yeah. It wasn’t like I actually felt like I’d been shot, but I felt the burst of pain that comes with that, if that makes sense. I know it’s kind of hard to understand when you haven’t experienced it first hand, but just know that we know if either of us are hurt when we’re not around. I think that’s the simplest way I can put it.”

“I can’t believe this,” Dick muttered. “This is absolutely crazy.”

“Well we are in Gotham,” Jason huffed. “All kinds of crazy things happen in this city.”

“Do you have any idea how to break this connection?” Bruce interrupted before a fight could start. “Have you managed to track down the scientist who did this to you yet?”

“I’ve been doing some research and looking into things,” Tim said. “I’ve gotten some information on the scientist and have his actual identity, but we haven’t had any luck in tracking him down. After the incident in the hospital he’s been pretty hard to find.”

“And you didn’t stop to consider that it would’ve been helpful for us to know this information a little sooner? Say, before Jason crashed into the side of a building and you passed out on a rooftop?” Bruce asked.

Tim nearly winced. There was an underlying hint of anger in what Bruce was saying and Tim could only imagine how disappointed he must be in them for letting this kind of thing happen. “We thought that we could handle it,” he muttered.

“Well it’s obvious that you couldn’t. And things might not have gotten this bad if you’d trusted the rest of us enough to tell us. Now…because of the recent event and what you’ve just told me, you two aren’t allowed to patrol until we get this fixed.”

“Bruce!” Tim protested.

Bruce held up his hand. “Jason needs to recover from his injuries from last night and I can’t have either of you running around when a serious injury could cripple both of you and make things even worse. So no patrolling until we get this fixed. Tim, you’re going to send me all of the files and information that you’ve collected on this case and I’m going to start looking through them.

“I’ll let you continue to compile research if that will keep you from trying to suit up, but any and all leads that you uncover will be sent directly to me or Dick, understood?”

Tim sagged back against the pillows that he’d been propped against and nodded.

“Good,” Bruce said. “The last thing is that Jason is going to be staying with you in your apartment until we get this fixed.”

Tim and Jason shared a confused look.

“Why?” Jason asked.

“Because you need to recover from your injuries and Tim can help look after you. It’ll give him something to do and I don’t trust either of you on your own with something as big as this hanging over your heads. Any threats that might come your way while you’re civilians will be able to be fielded by both of you and once you’re healed, taking care of them should be no problem,” Bruce explained easily.

“You can’t be serious. That’s total bullshit! We don’t need to babysit each other!” Jason argued.

“If you’re not willing to share Tim’s apartment, I can easily have you put on lockdown here in the Manor. We have plenty of rooms and I’m sure that Alfred will have no problems with making sure that you don’t strain yourself or irritate your injuries.”

“On second thought,” Jason said quickly, “sharing an apartment with Tim sounds great. But only on one condition: Tim isn’t allowed to cook.”

“I can cook just fine!” Tim exclaimed.

Jason leveled him with a look. “I highly doubt that. Isn’t there some sort of rule that says you only subsist on takeout and frozen dinners?”

Bruce sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “Save the bickering for when you get to Tim’s building, please. I’ll have Alfred get the car ready for both of you and he can drive you back to your apartment. Try not to kill each other before then.”

Tim watched him walk off and stuck his tongue out at Jason in what was an entirely mature reaction in his opinion.

Dick shook his head. “Good luck you two. Try not to kill each other until we can figure this out.”

Tim buried his head in his hands with a groan. “I can’t believe that this is happening.”

“We couldn’t exactly keep it a secret after last night,” Jason said softly and paused in thought. “Did you really vomit?”

Tim looked over at him and nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t my initial reaction. I felt the pain from when I assumed you got shot first. That brought me down to my knees. It’s pretty strange how I can usually grit my teeth through the pain of a gunshot wound when it happens to me, but experiencing it secondhand is so much worse. It was when you crashed into the building that caused me to vomit, I’m sure. Needless to say Bruce was freaking out about that and I was fighting him because I knew that I needed to get to you.”

“But Dick found me?” Jason asked, brow furrowing.

“Yeah…because I passed out when I tried to stand back up.”

“Christ,” Jason hissed. “Looks like there’s even more to this connection that we don’t understand.”

“I know. I feel like everything up until now has been so easy to deal with and that things are just now starting to…get…worse…”

“Tim?”

Tim swung his legs off the hospital bed so he could face Jason. “Jason do you think… I mean could this be a sign that whatever Anderson put together the first time hasn’t been fixed? And that the same problems exist with his experiments? With us?”

Tim could feel his panic rising and he knew that wasn’t a good thing. He needed to remain calm in the face of this all, especially if he wasn’t going to be able to patrol indefinitely.

Jason frowned and shook his head urgently. He gently eased himself into a sitting positon so that he could match Tim’s posture. “No. It can’t be. It’s got to be just that we’re learning more about it. Last night was a new set of circumstances. Up until that point, neither of us had experienced that much pain while we were sharing this connection. He had to have made improvements on it. He wouldn’t be experimenting with it again if he hadn’t.”

“But, Jason-“

“No, Tim. The same thing that happened to those kids isn’t going to happen to us. I _won’t_ let it happen to us. I promise. Just trust me, okay?”

Tim bit his lip and looked over Jason’s determined expression. He still had a very bad feeling about everything that was happening and what might still be in their future, but he’d accept it for now.

“Okay,” he said softly.

Jason seemed to relax at that and brought a hand to his side. “Damn, I’m not looking forward to having to come back from this injury.”

“At least you’ll have a lot of time to recover before you even get the chance to beat up bad guys again.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “That won’t stop me from beating you up if you insist on being a little shit.”

“Language, Master Jason,” Alfred spoke up as he crossed the floor of the Batcave with a wheelchair.

“Sorry, Alfred,” he grumbled.

“The car is waiting in the drive. Are the both of you ready to go?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Jason sighed with relief. He gently eased himself from the bed and eagerly sat down in the wheelchair.

“I’m surprised that you’re so willing to accept help,” Tim commented. “Usually you’d want to do everything yourself.”

“That may be true, but after being slammed into the side of a building, everything hurts and the last thing that I want to be doing is moving.”

“Touché,” Tim said, hopping down from his own bed and following Alfred from the BatCave.

Bruce was waiting next to the car when they made it outside. Alfred and Tim helped Jason stand from the chair and gingerly helped him into the backseat. Tim gave one last look to Bruce before he walked to the other side of the car and climbed in the backseat with Jason. Bruce ducked his head so he could see both of them in the backseat.

“Remember, no patrolling. And send me all the information you have on this case. This shouldn’t be any problem to get fixed once we dedicate more resources to it.”

“If it wasn’t a problem to get fixed, we would’ve fixed it already,” Jason grumbled.

Bruce sighed. “Just stay inside and keep out of trouble. We don’t need you getting hurt worse than you already are.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason said, pulling the door closed before he could say anything else.

Tim tried to hide his smile. He really did, but Jason caught it and winked at him, drawing a chuckle from Tim.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” he snickered as Alfred pulled away from the Manor and headed down the drive.

“Well he can see how difficult finding this scientist is when he gets your case files. Then he won’t be in such a good mood when he can’t find the idiot who did this to us. Hell, you’ll probably be able to crack this case from the comfort of your own apartment before he even gets very far.”

“Master Jason, language please,” Alfred admonished gently.

Jason sighed. “Sorry, Alfred.”

Tim let his head fall to the side so he could stare out the window. It was still early in the morning. The sun was just cresting the horizon and the early morning workers were on their way to their jobs. That also meant there was no traffic and they quickly made it through several streets. Tim still felt tired after the several hours he’d spent unconscious and knew he would be more than tempted to go back to sleep once he got inside his apartment and could lie down.

“Here we are Master Jason and Master Timothy,” Alfred said, turning into the underground parking garage below Tim’s building. He pulled into a spot that was right next to the elevator that would take them up to Tim’s apartment and stepped from the car.

Tim climbed out as Alfred began to gently help Jason stand from where he was seated. He pulled one of Jason’s arms around his shoulders and Tim took the other. They moved in front of the elevator doors slowly and Tim reached out to press the call button. The wait seemed far longer than it should have and Tim could feel the strain that Jason was going through as it got harder and harder for him to remain standing. He sucked breaths through his nose harshly and Tim glanced up to find that a muscle jumped in his jaw as he clenched his teeth together abruptly.

Tim nearly sighed with relief when the elevator did arrive and they stepped in as quickly as they could while being mindful of Jason as to not cause him anymore pain. The ride to the upper floors was much faster and Tim anxiously tightened his grip around Jason’s waist when they finally made it to his floor. He ignored the curious look that Jason was no doubt giving him in favor of helping him from the elevator and down the hallway.

It was awkward getting his apartment door open and shuffling in sideways, but they managed without upsetting Jason’s injuries.

“We can take him to the bedroom,” Tim said quickly.

Jason scoffed. “I don’t need to take the bed. You can just put me on the couch.”

Tim shook his head and Alfred spoke up. “That would not be wise, Master Jason. The couch would not allow you to relax properly and would cause you to take more time in healing.”

Jason grumbled under his breath as they continued down the hallway towards his bedroom.

“If it’s that important,” Tim broke in with a huff. “You can move onto the couch after you’re healed.”

“I’m counting on that,” he argued pettily.

Tim rolled his eyes and kicked the door to his bedroom the rest of the way open, thankful that it was somewhat clean for once. He didn’t need to be chastised by both Jason and Alfred over the state of his things. They eased Jason onto the bed slowly and Tim carefully placed both of his pillows behind Jason so that he could recline onto them.

Jason grunted as the movements pulled at his muscles and injuries, but managed to relax against the pillows with a sigh and closed his eyes.

“Excellent,” Alfred said, stepping back. “Is there anything else that I can help you with? Some food perhaps? Or does your apartment need any additional cleaning?”

Tim internally winced at the lack of food that was probably in his kitchen. He didn’t want Alfred to see that. “No thank you, Alfred. I think that we can handle it from here.”

“If you are certain, Master Timothy. If you need anything else, do not hesitate to call the Manor. I would be more than happy to bring you some dinner to speed the healing process for Master Jason.”

“Maybe later, Alfred,” Tim said, following him out of his room and to the front door.

“Of course, Master Timothy. Good day and rest well,” he said, stepping out into the hallway.

“Bye, Alfred,” Tim said before shutting the door to the sight of Alfred’s retreating back.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling exhausted even though he’d gotten several hours of sleep earlier.

“Tim?” Jason called. There was an edge to his voice that he couldn’t quite place, but he resigned himself to the fact that he’d probably be left to wait on him hand and foot over the next several days. If anything, Jason was going to enjoy it and try to make him do ridiculous things.

“What?” he sighed heavily and pushed off the wall so that he could trudge back down to the bedroom. He crossed his arms and stood in the doorway.

Jason was giving him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher. “Come here,” he said, beckoning Tim over.

“Why can’t you just tell me from where I’m standing in the doorway?” he grumbled, but walked over to the side of the bed. “It’s not like there’s anyone else around to hear what you’re going to say.”

Jason’s expression softened when Tim was within arm’s reach. “We’re going to be okay, alright? It’s going to take a lot more to bring us down than just some stupid scientist, I promise.”

Tim’s shoulders sagged. The fact that Jason could read him so well would’ve been unnerving if they hadn’t been connected for the past few days and shared the same experiences in more than one way.

“I know,” he admitted. “It’s just frustrating. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I don’t have something to focus on or some bad guy to catch. When I’m just stuck here in my apartment…”

Jason quirked an eyebrow at him. “Last time I checked, you aren’t the one who’s stuck in bed with injuries.”

“Sorry.”

Jason shrugged and then winced. “Okay, no shrugging,” he said with a sigh. “It’s no big deal. I’ll heal.”

Tim’s lips quirked at the accidental rhyme.

“And who says that you can’t do anything? You can still do research and plan and figure something out. There’s no way that those guys are going to be able to hide from your big brain. It’ll just mean that we can’t do the busting ourselves. And maybe once Bruce gets a look at all of the evidence that you’ve put together so far, he’ll be able to find some cure to make us better.”

“I still have to send my files to him, shit,” Tim said, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’m surprised he didn’t give Alfred a flash drive for me.”

“Alfred’ll be back around before you know it and you can pass off a copy of your stuff to him then. I’m sure that his Alfred senses were tingling when he walked through here.”

“Alfred senses?” Tim asked, lips quirking up at the corners.

“Of course! He knows where every speck of dirt and dust is located and feels the need to clean it. And he knows how much food is in your kitchen and what types of food you have stocked on top of that,” Jason explained in all seriousness.

Tim cringed. “That’s a little worrying.”

Jason smirked. “Only if you have empty cabinets and junk food to hide which considering who we’re talking about, is pretty likely.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just get some sleep. The sooner you heal, the better.”

Jason carefully maneuvered himself so he was mostly lying down and let out a shaky breath when he let his muscles relax.

Tim hesitantly took a step away before looking over Jason again. “Is there anything that you need or are you good?”

Jason waved off the comment, not quite able to plaster on a smile. Tim could finally see the exhaustion that he was hiding and how tired his eyes looked. The crash must’ve taken more out of him than Tim had originally realized.

“I’m fine. I just need a little more rest and I’ll be back in tip-top shape. Which is what you should be doing too. Get some sleep and we can both worry about what we’re going to do next later.”

Tim nodded and backed out of the room, pulling the door gently shut behind him. He quietly padded away from the door and made his way to the kitchen. Even with the few tendrils of tiredness that were pulling at his limbs, he knew that his mind was too awake to even allow him to lie down, let alone sleep.

He made a quick pot of coffee and sat down with a steaming mug on the couch before pulling his laptop towards himself and pulling up the files on their case. He read over the information again quickly and sighed. They had no current leads on other hospital employees who were associated with Anderson. Tim knew that it wouldn’t be impossible to track down some of them and get more information, but that would take a lot longer than if they had someone who they knew could offer some insight.

He thought back to the human trafficking ring that had started this all. And he got an idea. Feeling a little more confident in what he was working on, he pulled up the GCPD website and quickly gained access to their files, pulling up the recent missing person’s reports that had been filed over the past few days. Anderson didn’t seem like the type of guy who would give up his work so easily just to go into hiding. Which meant that he was still working or still had someone working for him.

And Tim wasn’t the type of guy who would just leave a case for someone else to solve when he had all the resources and opportunity necessary to solve it himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it. I'm hoping to get back to a regular updating schedule now, but we'll see how things go with school and such. 
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. The bright glow of his computer screen was starting to get to him and his muscles were tight from staying in the same position for so long. He heard grumbling from the other room and assumed that Jason had finally woken up and aggravated his injuries. Maybe Bruce was right that he couldn’t be trusted by himself if he wasn’t able to keep from causing himself pain even if he was doing something as simple as waking up.

“Okay, that’s it. How long did you think you could get away with working out here while you sent me off to sleep?”

Tim jerked, back hitting the couch as his gaze snapped to where Jason was leaning against the wall, holding his side, and breathing heavier than normal.

“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Tim asked, scrambling to his feet.

“I can’t exactly stay in bed when someone is a workaholic, caffeine addict, and refuses to get rest. I’m not the only one who’s been benched. You are too and I’m not about to suffer through all of the shit that comes through that alone.”

“I don’t think you have much of an argument when you can’t even take me down. You can’t even block a hit properly. Not without causing yourself enough pain to stop you in your tracks.” He grabbed Jason’s arm and tugged it around his shoulders before helping him hobble over to the couch.

“Shut up. Don’t make me accidentally fall on top of your laptop.”

Tim narrowed his eyes and eased Jason onto the couch. “You wouldn’t.”

Jason smirked. “You really want to try me, Timbo?”

He scowled. “No. Stay away from my computer. I don’t need you breaking anything.”

“Only if you stay away from your computer, too,” he shot back, grabbing Tim’s wrist before he could move away and pulling him down onto the couch next to him. “Now, why don’t you explain to me why it is that you’re still doing research even though you’ve got all the time in the world to work on it?”

“I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“ _I_ have to. Why can’t you?”

“Because it’s different.”

Jason quirked an eyebrow. “How?”

“I’m not injured and-“

“No, you’re not injured, but that doesn’t mean that you can work yourself into the ground until you get sick. I don’t want to have to take care of your scrawny ass.”

Tim glared at Jason.

“Now tell me the real reason why you can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“I don’t like being inactive. There’s something that I can do so I might as well do it. And who says that Bruce is going to crack this thing before me?”

Jason looked around. “There’s no one saying that, but you also have the chance to put yourself first. You don’t have to patrol which means you can sleep and I’m assuming that Bruce is going to bar you from school and W.E. unless it’s absolutely necessary so no dealing with idiots and old people who pinch your cheeks.”

Tim huffed and crossed his arms.

“I’m not saying that you have to give up on this altogether, but you have time to sleep and eat and do other weird nerdy things that you don’t normally get to do.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I just…”

“What aren’t you telling me, Tim?”

Tim stood and started pacing across the floor, unable to keep his nerves contained any longer. “There are so many things that don’t make sense with this case. I don’t know why we’ve had so much trouble tracking down Anderson when he should be the easiest person to find with how much stuff he’s been involved in.”

“You already put government involvement on the table, Tim. That’s the reason.”

“Yes, but I don’t _like_ it.”

Jason quirked an eyebrow. “You’re still scared. Even after everything we talked about this morning. You’re still worried that his formula or whatever that’s connected our emotions is still flawed.”

“Aren’t you?” Tim pleaded.

Jason sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired face, fingers catching on the small patches of stubble that had grown back in. “I…know that this isn’t simple by any means and that there’s a very real threat to ourselves and a lot of other people. But…I’m also not going to sit here and worry about things that I can’t exactly control right now. Can we do research and break this thing down? Yes. Does that mean we should run ourselves into the ground to do it? No. We’re not alone in this anymore. Hell, we weren’t from the beginning.

“There are plenty of other people who have our backs in this. Trust them. And trust me, too. We’ll be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you if I can help it. Most people won’t be willing to attack if they’re facing death down the barrel of a gun. Not unless they have a much bigger, more threatening gun-slash-weapon of their own.”

Tim rolled his eyes at Jason’s grin, but he couldn’t hide the relief he felt at Jason’s words. The whole project felt so much larger than him. It was a mountain that he was afraid of scaling alone. But he wasn’t alone. He had a partner in this and the best technology to get him to the top of it and come out on the other side.

He sat back down next to Jason, trying not to jostle him too much on the couch. “How is it that you have the ability to say the right thing sometimes?”

“Are you saying that there are times when I don’t know how to say the right thing?”

“Yes.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Be glad that I’m in recovery or your ass would be flat on the floor right about now.”

“Does this mean that I have several wonderful days of getting to taunt you without any backlash?”

“Don’t be so sure about that. If you’re not careful, I’m going to have a lot of reasons to beat your ass once I’m healed. Don’t doubt my creative abilities either. Who says that I have to physically land you on your ass?”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Because if you actually got me hurt, you would be feeling it too.”

Jason scowled at him. “Damn scientists making my threats useless.”

Tim snickered.

“Don’t think this is going to get you out of my wrath after we’re freed of this.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Please, I’m sure with your brain capacity, you won’t even remember the insults or the fact that you want to beat me up for them.”

He squawked when Jason grabbed his arm and tugged him close. Their faces were inches apart and Tim could make out the individual freckles clustered around Jason’s nose.

“Trust me when I say that I have a _very_ good memory. _Especially_ when it comes to holding a grudge.”

Tim swallowed and plastered on a cocky smile. “So I’m important enough for you to hold a grudge against?”

Jason snorted and slung an arm around his shoulders. “If it makes you feel better, then yes. You are important enough to hold a grudge against. And that grudge will keep getting bigger if you don’t get over this obsessive desire you have to work yourself into the ground. Now, if you’re all done moping, how about some food?”

Tim struggled to get out of Jason’s hold, but he wasn’t letting up. “Sure. What do you want to eat? I can go cook if you actually let me up.”

“Um…no. There’s no way in hell that I am letting you anywhere near that stove. No cooking for you. Never again. Or at least no cooking while I’m here.”

“I’m not _that_ bad.”

“I highly doubt that. Now help me up so I can criticize and judge all of your life choices based on what I’m going to find in your cabinets and fridge.”

“Umm…”

Jason rolled his eyes and pushed himself up from the couch. “Don’t worry, I already know that I’m not going to find anything good in there so we might as well get this over with. I don’t need a fully stocked restaurant-level kitchen. I just need to know there’s something edible in there that will hold me over until I can get some actual food for you.”

“I have actual food,” Tim objected, hovering nearby as Jason shuffled to the kitchen. He wasn’t exactly worried Jason was going to collapse from the pain, but he didn’t want to be held responsible if his injuries got worse because Jason was being stupid.

Jason glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “Want to take a polygraph?”

Tim’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You don’t think I can pass a lie detector test?”

Jason hummed and pulled open the fridge door. “You’re a good liar, Timmy, but not convincing enough to beat out the machine.”

“Oh and I suppose you’re better?” he scoffed.

Jason grinned and moved over to the cabinets. “I’ve done it before.”

Tim opened his mouth to shoot back a retort and then thought better of it, shaking his head instead. “Whatever. No amount of arguing is going to convince you anyway.”

“That’s only because you know that I’m right. Like I knew I was right when I said you didn’t have anything edible in this place and you don’t.”

He crossed his arms. “Takeout menus are in the drawer to your right. Pick out something you like and it’ll be here in a half hour.”

“Takeout is not actual dinner. I’m not going to let you go another day living off pizza or Chinese, okay? We need to go grocery shopping. You have a car, right?”

“I’m not taking you to the store when you can barely stand up.”

“Then give me your computer.”

“For what?” Tim asked as he shuffled around him towards the living room.

“To order groceries, duh! Haven’t you heard of those grocery delivery services? That’s the only way that we’re getting something to eat without bugging Alfred and I’m not about to call him up when he just left.”

Jason already had his laptop perched on his legs and feet propped up on the coffee table by the time Tim joined him. He tried not to comment as he watched Jason scroll through pages of groceries and put a cart together for them, but he couldn’t keep all of his exasperated sighs from coming out.

Jason’s hands froze over the keys and he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Keep complaining like that and I’m not going to cook for you.”

“Fine. You can cook for yourself and I’ll order Indian food. I’ve been craving that recently.”

“You’re not ordering Indian food. Seriously, how have you not had a heart attack? Your diet is disgusting.”

“I have more important things to do than try and keep my fridge fully stocked and spend time making meals. What’s so wrong with tossing something in the microwave? It’s a meal in three minutes. Seems like the best kind of invention to me.”

Jason shook his head. “You’re despicable. Credit card,” he said, holding out his hand.

Tim raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one taking the time to order groceries and you want me to pay for them?”

“You were more than willing to pay for takeout five minutes ago. This isn’t that different. This way I can guarantee you’re going to get better food that won’t threaten your long-term health. Now card,” he said, curling his fingers.

Tim rolled his eyes and pulled the laptop onto his legs. He angled the screen away from Jason to keep him from seeing the numbers he was typing in. He didn’t need any unwanted charges on his card and Jason would definitely be the person to use it for something ridiculous. He’d buy one of those inflatable hamster balls and wreck everything in the apartment.

A wrecked apartment and complaints from his neighbors would be the icing on a list of shits he didn’t need piling up any further.

“There,” he said, passing the computer back. “It’s ordered and paid for. Should be here in a couple of hours.”

“That’s what you think,” Jason said with a grin. “I put in an express order. We’ll get the stuff in thirty minutes.

Tim groaned and leaned his head back on the cushions. “Great.”

“You’re not exactly wanting for money and I’m hungry. If you don’t want something like this to happen then you shouldn’t let your cabinets get so low. Now…”

Tim tilted his head and watched as Jason pulled up the files he’d been looking at. His lips became more and more pinched the further he read until he finally shut the computer with a huff.

“It’s not pretty, I know,” Tim whispered. He’d gone over the details enough times himself that he probably had it committed to memory at this point, but memorization wasn’t exactly a difficult skill since he was a vigilante. It was needed in the field. There wasn’t time to sit and take notes and no one could risk their notes being found and compromising their identities and operations.

“Life’s not pretty. This is just another hiccup along the way, but we don’t need to worry about that now. We need to look through more missing person’s reports and find out where these people are being taken. That’s the only way we’re going to find our guy since no one else seems to know where he’s hiding out.”

“Well, I _would_ have those to show to you if you hadn’t interrupted me earlier.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “It was for your own good and you know it. But we might as well track some of those down while we’re waiting for food. Looks like dinner conversation is going to be an entirely healthy discussion on human trafficking and experimentation.”

Tim pulled the computer back and opened it, accessing the GCPD interface to peek at their files and reports. He completed a mass download of all of the missing person’s reports since the last time he’d gone through them. He scrolled through them, passing on the details in favor of the dates of the reports.  

“Most of these are from the worse areas of Gotham,” Jason murmured. “Not that that’s anything new, but…”

“Yeah…” Tim agreed. “Any operation isn’t going to want to gain more attention than necessary so it’s not a big deal if these people are kidnapped. The timestamps on these group them in sixes. That must be all they have room for in whatever they’re transporting them in. I’d guess a small van. Tie them up and give them gags and they’re not going anywhere.”

“It’s an even number too so that would give them pairs to work with in their experiments.”

Tim swallowed as a chill came over him, bringing goosebumps to the surface of his arms.

“That might be the largest amount they’re able to get settled at one time. Least suspicious form of transportation is a van. And it’s the most common and difficult to track.”

“Possibly a large facility depending on how many people they’re housing at one time. Since we don’t know if any of these people are dead, we can only speculate on where they might be located.”

Tim rubbed his arms, trying to drive away some of the chill that lingered. “Yeah. I’d aim for a larger base of operations. They’re going to need adequate room to house individuals separately or in pairs and storage of medical equipment and operating rooms.”

Jason nodded. “I would suggest searching the warehouse district, but…”

“But that would be too central in Gotham. Especially when a group of vigilantes are after them. And a warehouse would need a lot of work to get it into the type of condition necessary to make this operation work.”

Jason sighed and closed his eyes. “God this is such shit.”

“This is Gotham.”

Jason laughed and turned to look at Tim. “True.”

The door buzzed, interrupting their conversation. Tim shoved the computer at Jason and pulled himself from the couch. He pressed the intercom next to the door.

“Yeah?”

“Gotham Grocery Delivery. I have an order for Tim Drake?”

“Come on up,” he said, pressing the entry buzzer.

Tim waited by the door and watched Jason scroll through more of the reports that had been filed, adding comments to his case notes.

“Hey Tim?” he asked.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t think that Anderson is sending out collectors every night. These times match up every few weeks.” He pulled his eyes away from the screen and looked over at Tim. “So either they have a longer transport process or it takes that long to get these people settled in and the process started.”

“Could they-“

A knock sounded on the door and Tim sighed, pulling it open to find a bored looking worker holding a large box of groceries.

“Tim Drake?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he said, taking the box from him and setting it down on the floor. He signed the clipboard that was held out to him and shut the door as the worker left.

“Anyway,” he said, moving the box to the kitchen. “Could that be the amount of time it takes before this connection or whatever ends up killing them?”

“It’s a possibility, but I don’t think that’s entirely likely. They’re running an experiment so wouldn’t it make sense to be more vigilant in the early stages to make sure that nothing goes wrong and then moving them to a more permanent area with the older subjects?”

Tim nodded, pulling vegetables and boxes of pasta from the box. “That’s true. I just wish that we had more information on this guy. We have a better idea of when people are being kidnapped so we could easily go out and wait for the vans to come around. That would give us the identities of some of the lower workers in this operation who we could get information out of.”

“Let B take care of it. Send him your notes and he can put himself or someone else on it.”

“I’m surprised you’re willing to let someone else do the interrogating instead of pulling out your guns. And I can’t just let B take care of it. I told you I need to do something. Not just sit around.”

“Oh believe me, I want to pull my guns on these guys, but I can’t really do that right now. And you _are_ going to be doing something,” Jason said, taking a package of chicken from him as he walked around the counter now that he’d left the case files behind.

Tim raised an eyebrow.

“You’re going to sit down at the table and wait for me to cook and you are going to eat something that wasn’t stuck in a microwave or ordered from a fast-food place.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “You sure you’re good enough to stand and cook?”

Jason grinned. “You’d be surprised how good of a motivation hunger can be.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're ready for a new chapter!!!! Because I am. :D Can't wait for where I get to go from here. It's super exciting. 
> 
> <3 MOLIM

The sound of Tim’s phone ringing broke through the post-meal bliss that he was experiencing. Eating Jason’s cooking had been a surreal experience and was the best thing he’d had since the last time he was over at the Manor for dinner. It had been too long.

He reluctantly sat up from his comfortable position of becoming one with the couch and grabbed his phone from the table. He groaned when he saw it was Bruce calling. They’d practically just left the Manor, though not really when it was the end of the day, but that wasn’t the point. They’d barely gotten used to their restricted sense of freedom and now they were going to be checked up on like irresponsible kids.

“Hello?” Tim asked before settling back onto the couch.

Jason rolled his head to the side and looked over at Tim. His eyelids were drooping and Tim knew the carbs were getting to him as much as they’d affected him.

“Have you gotten settled in your apartment?” he asked, voice gruff.

Tim could tell that he was getting ready for patrol. Not that he was never not ready, but it was the voice that came out when he was between being Bruce Wayne and Batman.

“For the most part. Jason and I finished dinner a while ago. Neither of us have tried to sneak out and Jason hasn’t irritated his injuries.”

Jason huffed a breath, but didn’t comment, not wanting Bruce to know he was nearby.

“Good. There’s just one problem,” he continued.

“What’s that?” Tim asked, dread filling his stomach.

“I’ve gotten a notification that you hacked into the GCPD police files. Specifically, missing person’s reports.”

Tim cringed, but didn’t say anything.

“I thought I told you to leave the case to the rest of us until we could figure out how to reverse the connection between you and Jason?”

“Well,” Tim said. “I had something I wanted to look into and-“

“No more,” Bruce said, cutting him off. “No more looking into the case files. Once you pass on all the information to me, you are not permitted to do further work on this case. I’ll be by tonight to pick up the flash drive of your files. If you’re desperate to find something to do, you’ll have plenty to keep you occupied with school and W.E. Understood?”

Tim checked a sigh, not wanting Bruce to hear it.

“Understood?” Bruce repeated.

“Yes,” he said, hiding the reluctance in his voice. Jason shifted next to him and he was sure his change in mood hadn’t gone unnoticed by him even if he was able to keep the cues hidden from Bruce, but even then he couldn’t be entirely sure he’d been successful.

“Excellent. I’ll see you tonight,” Bruce said, cutting off the line.

Tim sighed and tossed his phone onto the table before falling back against the couch cushions.

“What’s up?” Jason asked, slinging an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close.

Tim didn’t have the energy to protest the action or think about it beyond the warmth it enveloped him in.

“Bruce knows that I hacked into GCPD to get the missing person’s reports and he’s not happy about it. He basically reemphasized that I’m not allowed to do anything while being benched expect, apparently, school and stuff for W.E. He’s also stopping by tonight to pick up the flash drive with all of my intel.”

“Which you’re not happy about because it means he’s going to be keeping feelers on you to make sure you’re not doing anything you’re not supposed to be doing.”

“I don’t know if he’ll be satisfied with only the feelers. He might have Oracle block all of my remote access which means no getting in at all.”

“Just think about it this way,” Jason said with a smile. “Now there’s really nothing keeping you from relaxing and having a good time while you’re benched. Yeah, sure you have school and work and all, but someone as smart as you won’t have to take too much time with shit like that.”

“Yeah so what else am I going to do?” he groaned.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Learn to have fun.”

“I know how to have fun,” he objected.

“I highly doubt that, considering you’re so torn up about not being able to do work. Like seriously, you’re supposed to want to slack off work. But, since you insist on not being able to enjoy anything good in life, I’m going to teach you how to have fun.”

“And how do you expect to do that?”

Jason shrugged. “I’m still working on a plan, but I figure the first thing I can do is teach you how to cook decent food. That way you won’t starve by the time you no longer get to appreciate having me around.”

“You seriously want to teach me how to cook?” he asked in disbelief.

“Sure. And if cooking doesn’t turn out to be your thing, maybe you’ll have a knack for baking. I could definitely use an endless supply of chocolate chip cookies.”

“That’s flirting with disaster. Especially after having Alfred’s cookies.”

Jason draped a hand over his heart. “There will never be anything as great or as wonderful as Alfred’s cookies and no one will ever replicate them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use other cookies to fill the void his have left.”

Tim laughed. “You’re so dramatic.”

Jason scoffed. “I can’t believe you would ever suggest such a thing.”

“Please,” Tim said, smacking his knee, which was probably the only safe part to hit. “If I hadn’t worked with you before, I would ask if you’re always like this, but we both know you are.”

Jason got Tim into a headlock and rubbed a fist against his hair, much to Tim’s dismay. “That’s only because life’s more fun that way. It’s better to be dramatic than boring.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tim said, pushing him off which wasn’t hard when Jason was still aching and sore from the night before. “Just go do the dishes while I get the drive ready for Bruce.”

Jason scoffed. “Hell no. I cooked, so you can clean.”

“You can’t be serious?” Tim asked.

“Of course I’m serious. It’s only polite. Why make the person who cooked do all the work? I cooked so you get to do the dishes.”

Tim grumbled something under his breath. “Fine,” he sighed. “Let me just get the drive ready and I can go clean up your mess.”

“No,” Jason said, pulling the laptop from his hands. “I can take care of this. You just get cleaning.”

Tim rolled his eyes, but grabbed a blank drive from his desk and passed it off to Jason before he made his way into the kitchen. The dirty dishes had been piled next to the sink and he flicked on the water, turning it up as high as it would go before pouring some dish soap into the sink.

He got to work scrubbing at the dishes. The rhythmic movements and the warmth of the water somehow managed to silence the thoughts that would usually be rampaging through his brain. He felt calm and maybe that’s why Jason had pushed him towards this. It was a chance to ignore everything else that way trying to grab his attention and was giving him a moment of peace.

If this kept up, he might actually be able to handle not working on the case until it was solved. Or he was just kidding himself and was tired enough that his brain had finally given up on any attempts to make sense of his life.

Tim left the dishes to dry and plopped back down on the couch next to Jason. His laptop had been shut and left to the side with the drive on top of it. Jason held the remote in his hands and was flipping through the channels, searching for something to watch.

“Anything good?” Tim asked.

Jason huffed. “Of course not. Why would there be anything good on T.V.?”

“I dunno. Seems like there should be if they want people to stay entertained and keep watching,” Tim shot back.

Jason glared at him and Tim couldn’t help but smirk.

“Whatever. What movies you got?” he asked instead.

“Plenty. What do you want to watch?”

“Something good.”

Tim rolled his eyes and took the remote from Jason’s hand. Instead of getting up to sift through his collection of DVDs he pulled up Netflix instead. Surely there had to be some show or movie on there that would satisfy him.

“Here,” he said, passing the remote back. “Find something you want to watch.”

Jason huffed and propped his cheek against his fist as he slowly scrolled through the titles. After several painful moments of silence, he finally settled on a show and hit play. Tim shifted into a more comfortable position and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyelids felt heavy and he knew it was from dinner, but he wasn’t sure if he’d get through this without falling asleep.

~~

“Tim. Hey, Tim.”

He was nudged and groaned.

A sigh rattled loudly next to him. “Come on, you need to wake up.”

He was poked again and Tim swatted at where the rogue hand had hit him. “Leamme alone,” he grumbled.

“Look, I think it’s great you’re sleeping, but if you want to actually pass the flash drive onto B you’re going to have to be awake to do it.”

Tim’s brow furrowed. “Flash drive? Shit,” he exclaimed, bolting upright.

He looked around his living room, expecting Bruce to be there in full Batman glory, but found it empty of any vigilantes. Jason was looking at him and trying to suppress a smile, but his grin broke through and he started chuckling.

“For someone who never sleeps, you’re sure difficult to wake up.”

Tim rubbed his eyes and pouted. “Shut up. I thought Bruce was going to be standing in the middle of my living room in his cowl.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Oh please, like he’d ever risk himself by coming in here. You know you’re going to have to go up to the roof and give it to him anyway and if you don’t want an angry call from him about keeping him waiting, you might want to get up there.”

Tim turned towards the window and saw that night had fallen and it had been dark for a while. He huffed and swiped the drive from where it was sitting on top of his computer before moving over towards the window. He thought better of climbing out how he was and hurried into his bedroom. He pulled on a black hoodie, keeping the hood up, and shoved his feet in a pair of converse. The last thing he needed to do was freeze his feet off while waiting around for Bruce.

As he walked back into the living room, he flipped the overhead light off, plunging the room into mostly darkness aside from the blue glow of the television screen.

“Are you seriously going to be that paranoid?” Jason asked.

“Might as well take as many precautions as I can. And don’t complain, you get to sit here and lay around on the couch while I have to go wait in the cold.”

He could almost hear Jason’s eye roll. “Well if you’d just given the drive to Alfred when he brought us here you wouldn’t have to go out and stand in the cold until it’s convenient for B to make an appearance.”

“Nah, if he’s that desperate he’ll be waiting up there for me.”

“Doubtful. You said he was upset that you hacked into GCPD when you’re supposed to be resting. Prepare to freeze your scrawny ass off.”

“Whatever,” Tim said, moving over to the window. He quickly shut down his security systems and crawled through. The cold Gotham wind bit through his hoodie and he shivered. He hoped Jason was wrong and he wouldn’t be waiting long.

He hurried up the fire escape and landed on the roof without a sound. Not that there was anyone around to hear it if he made one anyway. There was no sign of Batman. Tim’s eyes scanned the horizon, searching for some sort of movement that would only be seen from the rooftops, but hidden from the people below. When he didn’t catch anything he sighed and walked around the gravel top to try and keep the cold at bay as long as he could.

He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and balled them into fists. Minute shivers were already shaking his frame and he knew that if he was out here much longer he really was going to freeze. He never understood how he could handle swinging around Gotham in nothing but a tight Kevlar suit, but as soon as he had to step outside in civilian clothes, they never seemed to mask the chill or stop it from seeping into his bones.

Just as his shivers were getting more violent, he spotted movement on the horizon. It was entirely by chance he saw the flutter of Batman’s cape, but it was enough to keep Tim motivated until he landed on the rooftop opposite him. Tim squeezed his hand tighter around the drive as he approached, waiting until there was only a foot of space between them until he pulled his hand from his pocket.

“The drive,” he said, holding it out to Batman.

He took it without a word and secured it in a pouch on his utility belt. Tim checked the sigh that wanted to slip out at all of his hopes and dreams slipping away from him.

“Get back inside,” he said, voice gruff as he turned away.

Tim didn’t bother arguing or saying anything else. His nod was lost on Batman who was already running to the edge of the rooftop and grappling away.

As much as he’d wanted to get back inside and out of the cold a few moments ago, he didn’t move his feet, letting his eyes gaze at the horizon over Gotham. The lighted windows blurred together as Tim’s eyes moved in and out of focus. His mind wandered, thinking of the drive and all of his research and of the side effects he was waiting to start experiencing because of his connection with Jason.

Maybe Bruce would have more luck with solving the case, but Tim doubted it. Not when he didn’t seem to care about what they were going through at all. But maybe he would after he got a look at the research and saw what they might be dealing with.

As Tim came back to himself, he realized how bad he was shaking. His legs were stiff after having stood still for so long and he forced them down the steps of the fire escape, having to make a conscious effort that he didn’t make any noise. He sunk his teeth into his bottom lip harshly to keep them from chattering and pushed the window of his apartment open.

He stumbled inside and shivered violently as warmth spread over his skin from the warm air and he hurried to close the window behind him. Even with the lights off, Tim could see Jason raise his head and look at him from where he was on the couch.

“Are you not able to retain any body heat at all?” he quipped.

“Shut up,” Tim literally bit out because his teeth were moving so fast.

Jason sighed. “Just get your ass over here so we can thaw you out.”

Tim didn’t hesitate moving forward. He kicked off his shoes and curled his feet underneath him as he pulled his hoodie more tightly around him. Jason wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. Tim shivered at their difference in body temperature and curled closer, seeking more warmth. Jason settled back into the couch so he could turn his attention back to what he was watching.

The more violent shivers subsided first, leaving Tim with a slight tremble from the cold that had settled deep in his bones.

“Wait here,” Jason said before sluggishly pulling himself up off the couch.

“Where are you going?” Tim asked, confused as to why Jason would shuffle through his apartment in pain when he didn’t have to.

“Doesn’t matter, just wait there.”

Tim wrapped his arms around himself and let his eyes settle on the T.V. He stared at it and tried to grasp what was going on even though he was picking up the plot in the middle of the episode.

When Jason came back into the living room he flipped the light on and Tim blinked against the sudden brightness, rubbing his eyes as they began to water. A heavy blanket was draped around his shoulders and Tim looked up at Jason in question. He smiled crookedly and ruffled Tim’s hair before moving back into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Doesn’t matter, just watch T.V.”

Tim rolled his eyes, but pulled the blanket tighter around himself, sighing happily as it drove off a little of the chill that was still pulling at him. He heard the clanking of dishes, but let Jason do what he wanted. He’d already cooked for them so maybe he was making dessert or something. He wouldn’t have minded a bowl of ice cream, but he knew that Jason probably hadn’t bought any of that. And he’d argue Tim shouldn’t be eating ice cream when he was already shivering on the couch.

Tim was finally becoming more comfortable by the time Jason shuffled back around the couch. He held out a pair of mugs for Tim to take and once he was free of them he eased himself onto the couch rather roughly. He took one of the mugs back and took a sip, sighing happily. Tim stared at him and then looked back at his own mug.

“Don’t just stare at it, drink it before it gets cold,” Jason scoffed.

Tim looked into his mug at the creamy, steaming hot chocolate. He took a sip, warmth spreading through him from the liquid. He sighed and relaxed against the back of the couch.

“Hey,” Tim protested when Jason ruffled his hair again.

Jason chuckled and settled his arm back around Tim’s shoulders, jostling him just barely. Tim smiled down at his hot chocolate and took another sip, a different warmth spreading through him as he settled down for the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Tim blinked his eyes open at the sound of his alarm, trying to clear his vision from the last dredges of sleep. He brought up a hand to rub at his eyes and reached over to the coffee table for his phone to shut off the alarm. He let it fall to his chest after silencing it and groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position. He stretched his arms over his head, feeling his back and shoulders pop in several different places after a night on his unforgiving couch.

He felt groggy and a little disoriented and already knew that this day was not going to be an easy one. He was glad he had the forethought to get his books and a change of clothes out of his room the night before. He knew Jason would probably wake up as soon as he turned on the shower, if he wasn’t already, but didn’t want to disturb him too much.

Tim tried to let some of the tension in his shoulders go, but found that it was being stubborn and hanging around. He popped into the kitchen and turned on his coffee maker to run while he grabbed a shower. The warm water would hopefully loosen up his muscles and send him off on his way to school.

He stripped out of his sweats while the water warmed but paused when his gaze drifted to the mirror. His fingers settled on his hip where Jason’s symbol was, the pads of his fingers tracing over the color. He’d forgotten about it, but now it drew a shiver from his core.

Tim forced his hand away and clenched it into a fist before turning from the mirror. He couldn’t stand around like a loon all morning. He had to get ready for school and he wasn’t about to take so long that his coffee would be cold by the time he got out.

He sighed as warm steam engulfed him and he could step under the hot spray. His shoulders lost a little bit of their tension, but he knew it was still going to be a long day of classes where his mind would insist on drifting back to other things. He reached for the bottle of shampoo instead and poured some into his hand, lathering it together before tangling his hands in his hair, sighing as he let his nails scratch along his scalp.

He got through his shower quickly, mourning the loss of the warm water. He pulled on the pair of jeans and the hoodie he’d grabbed the night before and dumped his sweats in the hamper near the door.

A puff of steam followed him out of the bathroom and met the smell of freshly brewed coffee that greeted him. He filled a mug and took a long drink, downing half the glass as the caffeine slowly moved into his system. He felt a prickle of discomfort on the back of his neck and took another drink, knowing he was going to have a long day.

Tim emptied the rest of the coffee pot into a travel mug and snapped the lid on top. He opened the cabinets and spotted a box of granola bars, ripping open the top of the box and pulling a packaged bar free. He chugged the rest of the coffee in his mug and placed it in the sink to be washed later. He grabbed his travel mug and granola bar and moved back into the living where he’d left his backpack.

He threw the bar in his bag and stuffed his computer and the books he needed inside. Making sure he had his wallet and phone, Tim slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack and clutched his travel mug tightly in his hand. He grabbed his car keys from the bowl on the table near the door and shoved his feet into combat boots.

He yawned as he left his apartment behind and headed down the stairs. He let his mind go blank as he got into the parking garage and headed towards his car. He dumped his backpack into the passenger seat and practically fell into the driver’s seat, but still managed to keep his coffee from getting jostled. He put his mug in its snug cradle before leaving the parking garage behind and heading towards school.

Traffic wasn’t too bad for a Monday morning. He only hit the last lingering slow-down from the exodus of people off to their jobs. He’d been lucky enough not to be dragged down by early morning classes and forced to face morning rush-hour, but things didn’t always work out after he got done with classes and more often than not, he’d have to sit through slow, nearly standstill traffic as people headed home from their jobs.

Tim managed to find a parking spot on the third level of the university garage. He shivered at the cool wind that blew through the cold concrete pillars when he stepped from his car and cradled his mug close in his hands. Some of the warmth seeped through to his hands, but most of it was trapped inside, keeping his coffee warm.

There were a few other students hurrying across the quad towards their different buildings and classes. He followed a few other people towards the business building and pushed inside the heavy, doors before turning towards the second floor and moving through the halls until he reached the right room. There were a few other students inside already and he took his seat in the back next to the available outlet.

Tim set up his computer on the desk in front of him and left it to start up so he could pull out his business ethics textbook. He tapped at his computer with one hand while taking a sip of his coffee, sighing at the warmth that returned to him with it. He was still tired, but feeling more alert than he had when he woke up.

He pulled out his granola bar and ripped open the wrapper as a large group of students burst through the door, followed closely behind by their professor.

“Take your seats, take your seats,” she muttered, settling in at the computer. “We have a lot to discuss today. We need to unpack the reading I assigned and talk about how it’s applied to the business world.”

Tim settled into his chair and opened up a blank word doc so he could take notes on his computer. He watched as his professor pulled up a series of slides and leaned against the podium, looking at everyone around the room.

“Let’s get started,” she said with a smile.

Tim briefly thought she was way too happy to be talking about ethics on a Monday morning.

~~

By the time his lecture came to an end, there was a dull throb on the side of his head. He grit his teeth and packed up his bag, glad to have a couple hours before his next class to fight off the headache before it got worse. He was the last person out the door besides the professor and he tossed his empty granola bar wrapper in the trash before slipping down the hall, hoping to find an unoccupied couch or corner to relax in.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one that was nestled in the back away from the windows and miraculously didn’t have a horrible fluorescent light in the ceiling. He set his backpack on the floor next to the chair and curled in between the arm rests, settling his head on the back cushion so he could close his eyes.

He rubbed at the side of his head, hoping to drive away some of the pain, but it didn’t seem to be helping much. He reached for his backpack as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it in favor of digging through the pockets for the bottle of pain meds he carried with him. He smiled and pulled it out, feeling his heart sink when it didn’t make its characteristic rattle.

He pulled off the cap and was left staring at an empty bottle. Tim sighed and closed his eyes as a sharp stab of pain throbbed through his head.

His phone vibrated again and he reluctantly pulled it from his pocket, seeing he had two texts from Jason. He turned down the brightness on his phone before even thinking about opening the messages.

_Jason: You okay?_

_Jason: I just felt another stab of pain, what the fuck is going on Tim?_

_Tim: Sorry. Headache. I’ll be fine._

_Jason: You got pain meds?_

Tim looked down at the bottle in his lap and bit his lip. If he said no, Jason would tell him to go buy some. Or run down to the university himself with a whole bag of them. If he said yes, that might get Jason off his back unless it got worse.

_Tim: Sure I do. Just need to get them out of my bag._

_Jason: Good. Don’t make me come over there._

_Tim: Jason you can barely walk. There’s no way you’re going to make it all the way over here. Do all of us a favor and stay in bed. I don’t need to come and pick you up from a bus stop because you can’t get up._

_Jason: Fuck you_

Tim rolled his eyes and immediately regretted the action as it sent another stab of pain through his head. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting it fall against the back cushion. He definitely wouldn’t be getting any work done, but what work did he have really? Schoolwork was a no-brainer and they were in the new project quarter at W.E. so there wasn’t anything for him to check over or reports to deal with.

And now that he couldn’t do research on his and Jason’s little problem, he had all the free time in the world.

Keeping his eyes closed and staying relaxed made the pain almost non-existent. He didn’t get any more messages from Jason so he figured he was going to be doing a great job of fooling him that the pain meds had actually been taken. His day was free until his two back-to-back classes in the afternoon. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through those yet, but he was just hoping that he could manage to not feel like he was dying for most of the day.

It was a weird experience letting his mind wander. He never focused on one line of thought for too long and since he couldn’t do more research on his case, he could only review what he remembered which was pretty much everything, but even going over that didn’t produce any new leads. He was pretty sure he dozed a couple times, but not for very long and no one came over to him so he was in pretty good shape.

Tim reluctantly opened his eyes, trying to keep himself from squinting and making the pain worse so he could check the time. He sighed when he saw how late it was and unfolded himself from the chair so he could sling his backpack over his shoulder and head to his afternoon classes.

The bright lights immediately made the pain in his head worse, but he hoped it wasn’t enough for Jason to take notice. He settled himself down in the back of his classroom and rubbed at his temples, hoping his classes would go quickly and he could get home to some sweet relief.

By the end of his second class, Tim’s head felt like it was being pounded by a hammer. That had really been how he’d felt during his entire second class. At one point he thought he was going to break down and start crying because he didn’t feel like he could take it anymore. But he didn’t. He stayed and now he could go home.

But because of the way the day had already gone, he wasn’t getting home anytime soon with rush hour traffic. Tim did his best to stay relaxed as he creeped through the streets of Gotham and was happy to finally make it back to his apartment as his stomach started to growl. His headache hadn’t improved any and he knew it was a decently sized migraine.

He sagged against the side of the elevator and closed his eyes against the harsh lights as he rode up to his floor, feeling a little disoriented as he felt himself climb up several floors to where his apartment was located.

When the doors finally opened he squinted against the lights and moved down the hallway, sluggishly turning his key in the lock and pushing the door open. He was surprised to find the lights of his apartment dimmed and the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. Other than that the place was silent and Tim had expected to come back to Jason planted in front of the couch and watching T.V.

“I thought I told you to take pain meds,” Jason whispered, turning around the corner.

Tim sagged and kicked off his shoes. “I was out.”

“You should’ve gone to pick some up,” he scolded. “Here.”

Tim took the offered bottle of migraine meds and shook one into his hand. He swallowed it dry and screwed the cap back on.

“I’m making dinner so you can go lie down until it’s ready. I’ll bring it to you in bed.”

Tim thought of laying back down on his couch after the night’s sleep he had on it and wasn’t ready for another round of torture.

“And I do mean in bed, Tim. Go to your bedroom and get in your bed,” Jason said with a huff.

Tim opened his mouth to argue, but Jason rolled his eyes and pushed him down the hall.

“Go. I have to finish cooking anyway.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled. He dropped his backpack inside his bedroom door and shoved his jeans down around his ankles. He climbed into the messy covers and curled them around his body, finally feeling himself relax for the first time that day.

He didn’t get the chance to drift off before Jason was walking into the room with a tray in his hands. Tim was surprised that it was ready since he hadn’t heard a timer go off.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tim mumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position so he could lean against the headboard. Jason set the tray in his lap before climbing onto the opposite side of the bed and taking one of the bowls from the tray.

Tim felt like he should’ve been surprised by how well Jason was moving around after a day of rest, but he was a vigilante. He wasn’t going to let himself stay down for long.

Tim ate slowly, trying to keep the pain in his head to a minimum and he probably would’ve put the food aside if he hadn’t been so hungry. When he was done with his bowl, Jason took it and the tray from his lap, turning to set them on the floor. He nudged Tim until he was laying down on his side, head cradled on his pillow.

Without hesitating, Jason laid down next to him and pulled him up against his chest.

“Jason…” Tim started.

“Shh. Just sleep,” he said.

Tim relaxed into the mattress, too tired to really care. Jason’s hand rested at the back of his neck and slowly massaged the muscles there. It did a little to relieve the throbbing in his head and he sagged into the mattress, surprised that he’d held so much tension in his shoulders without noticing. He blamed it on not being able to take pain meds earlier in the day.

His eyes started to droop and he curled into Jason, glad that he wasn’t having to lay on the couch.

“You really need to start taking better care of yourself, Tim,” Jason murmured. “I’m going to know about it if you don’t.”

Tim felt a stab of guilt run through him. He hadn’t even thought about how Jason might be dealing with his migraine even if he was somewhat able to push it to the side in favor of other things.

“Sorry,” he sighed. “I probably put you through more pain then you needed today.”

“You put yourself through more pain than you needed to today,” Jason chastised. “There was no reason why you had to suffer through class with a headache.”

“I didn’t have any pain meds,” he repeated his statement from earlier, knowing he was already long past losing this argument.

“And you could’ve gone and picked up another bottle. You had time between classes, didn’t you?”

Tim pursed his lips. He did have time, but he’d just stayed curled up in the chair he’d planted himself in instead.

“Or if you’d told me, I could’ve brought you some,” Jason continued.

Tim bolted upright and clutched his head with a hiss as it made his head throb. Jason sighed and pulled him back to the bed.

“Don’t cause yourself anymore pain, please.”

“You didn’t need to bring me any pain meds,” Tim said. “You need to focus on getting better and that’s not going to happen if you don’t stay here and rest.”

“You make it real heard to want to lay around and rest, Timbo. Especially when you insist on suffering from more pain than you need to. I’m a fast healer anyway. If it meant stopping you from having a headache all day, I would’ve trekked across Gotham with two broken legs to chuck a bottle of pills at your hard head.”

Tim pursed his lips. “Now who’s not taking care of himself,” he muttered.

He could practically hear Jason’s eye roll as his hand returned to his neck to massage the muscles there. “Just get some sleep and stop trying to argue with me when you know I’m right and you don’t have any fight left in you because of your head.”

Tim huffed and wanted to argue back, but closed his eyes instead, losing himself to the sensations of Jason’s fingers running over his skin. The throb in his head wasn’t as sharp as it had been and he knew once he woke up, he’d be pain free.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs hands together gleefully* I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do.

Tim shifted, tightening and relaxing all of his muscles in a mini stretch. He sighed when he sagged further into the mattress, content. He snuggled further into the warmth next to him, feeling something tighten around his waist. He furrowed his brow before blinking his eyes open, feeling his heart stop when Jason’s chest came into focus in front of him.

“You have class or something?”

Jason’s mumble broke him out of his daze.

“I-uh, yeah,” he said, rolling over to free himself from the warm grip. He reached for his phone that had been left on the bedside table and looked at the time. “Shit,” he said, bolting upright.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked, more alert.

“I’m late,” Tim said, flinging the covers off himself. “Crap, crap, crap.”

He flew around the room, grabbing a new change of clothes before rushing into the bathroom. His first class was already starting and there was no way he was going to make it in time, but if he was lucky he would make it for his second class of the morning. He’d send an apology email to his first professor later.

Tim jumped in the shower, not even letting the water warm up before he was scrubbing shampoo into his hair. He washed quickly and half-toweled dry before he was pulling on his clean clothes and dumping his dirty shirt and boxers in the hamper. He was shocked when he was met with the smell of coffee after walking through the door.

“Are you making coffee?” he asked, peeking around the corner.

Jason turned to him from where he was in the kitchen and shrugged. “I figure you could use it and you need to get to class anyway.”

Tim grinned. “Thanks,” he said, before he was off again, shoving his feet into socks and shoes before dumping his books from his backpack to throw what he’d need for that day in. He threw it over his shoulder and raced into the kitchen.

“Here,” Jason said, handing him a granola bar and his coffee mug. “Don’t go crazy on the drive over. We don’t need you getting into a car wreck because you can’t control yourself on the streets.”

“Please, I’m a vigilante. I’m probably the best driver on the road,” Tim said with a grin.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said, ruffling Tim’s hair in a way that brought some warmth to Tim’s cheeks. “Get going. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Okay,” Tim said, backing up towards the door. “I’m stopping by W.E. after class to check how things are getting going and I should be home this afternoon.”

“Got it,” Jason said from his spot in the kitchen.

Tim cleared his throat, forcing himself to turn and pull open his apartment door. When it shut behind him he let out a breath before he was hurrying through the hallway and down the stairs towards the parking garage. He forced all thoughts of that morning from his mind. He couldn’t be late for his second class anyway.

~~

The sound of books being flipped closed snapped Tim out of his daze and he blinked, staring at his computer screen where a blank word doc was sitting open. He wanted to groan and bury his head in his arms. After all the fuss he’d made about making it to his second class, he hadn’t even been able to focus and zoned out instead.

He huffed and started to pack up his things. Looks like that day of classes was a bust. He really wanted to go home, but he’d already said he’d go in to W.E. and check how the new progress quarter was starting and the idea of going home and seeing Jason wasn’t something he was ready to encounter yet. He slid his arm through his backpack strap and followed the other students out the door.

He wove his way through the hall towards the front doors, passing the other students standing in groups waiting for their professors or holding meetings on the available couches pushed against walls or tucked in corners. He even saw someone curled up in an armchair, hanging over the side asleep. Tim suppressed a smile. He felt bad for whoever that was. They must not be having a very good day if they’re that far gone and god help them when exams come around.

He pushing through the double doors and jogged down the stairs, feet hitting the pavement easily as he made a beeline for the parking garage across the quad. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and listened to the wisps of conversation that he could catch from passing people while his sneakers crunched over the dying grass.

Most of what he heard was innocent comments about classes and assignments or even plans for the coming weekend. He hardly ever picked up any interesting information on campus.

Tim hurried up the stairs to the level his car was parked on and wove through the spots until he got to his, jumping into the front seat and leaving school behind for W.E.

He’d long stopped feeling self-conscious about showing up at W.E. in jeans and a hoodie. Everyone knew he was a college student and if there wasn’t an important meeting scheduled or a risk of being seen by someone important who had outside ties to the company he didn’t bother dressing up. Most people dressed in a more relaxed way anyway. Especially the researchers. They couldn’t afford to pay dry-cleaning bills every time something spilled on their clothes which was more frequently than might be expected.

Tim raised a hand in greeting as he passed the front desk and headed for the elevators. He got a nod in response and jogged to catch a mostly full elevator that was heading up. He pressed the button for his floor and watched as the doors slid shut and they slowly climbed. He forced himself not to shift from foot to foot at the silence that descended as soon as he stepped inside. He would’ve much rather been privy to unimportant conversation than feel like everyone’s eyes were on him.

People shuffled around as they climbed the floors and it was a relief when Tim could finally free himself from the stifling atmosphere.

“Afternoon, Mr. Drake,” their secretary greeted.

“Afternoon Caroline,” he nodded back. He slipped through the door to their floor and made a beeline for his office, pulling the key free from his pocket so he could unlock it. Once he was safely inside, he dumped his backpack behind his desk and grabbed his clipboard and a pen, taking a moment to debate whether he wanted to make a cup of coffee or not, but deciding against it since he didn’t need to the energy to stay awake later that night.

Tim shuffled the papers on his clipboard and readied himself to deal with the team of researchers under him for the day. If he was lucky he’d get in and out fast and could get back to his apartment with minimal damage. He took a deep breath and turned, surprised to find Bruce standing in his doorway with his hand raised to knock on the open door.

“Bruce,” Tim blurted.

He lowered his hand. “Afternoon Tim. You just come from class?” he asked, nodding towards his hoodie.

“Yeah. I was just dropping by to check on the research team before heading home.”

“I’m glad I caught you now, then. There’s going to be a charity gala hosted on Friday. I’m expecting you to be there.”

Tim nodded. “Yeah, okay. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Wait,” Tim added when Bruce turned to leave.

He hummed and glanced back over his shoulder.

“Have you had any new insights into the research I passed onto you?” he asked.

Bruce shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re working on it, Tim.”

“And you’re sure there’s not anything I can do to help?” he asked.

“We’ve got this covered, Tim. Trust me.”

Tim nodded, not letting a heavy sigh escape until Bruce was well out of earshot. He tightened his grip on his clipboard and pulled the door to his office shut behind him, turning in the opposite direction Bruce had gone to walk through the research rooms.

He slipped through the third door on the left and found four people huddled around a table.

“Mr. Drake!” one of them said, popping up from the others with a grin.

“Afternoon, Clara. Is something exciting happening?” he asked, stepping closer, smile pulling at his lips.

“We’re working on expanding the prototype robot we were working on last quarter,” she said waving him over.

John and Lexa made room for him at the table and he watched as Clara tapped in something on the computer that had wires connecting it to the small robot on the table. He watched as it picked up and moved a small notebook from one side of the table to the other.

“It’s only able to execute simple commands right now since we’re working on streamlining the design with a smaller version at first but we’re hoping to build something on a larger scale by the end of the quarter that can fulfill more complex tasks,” John explained.

Tim made a few notes on his clipboard. “Care to explain how you plan to accomplish that?” he asked.

Clara beamed and jumped into an explanation of their plans for the next quarter without any hesitation.

~~

Tim hummed to himself under his breath as he jogged up the last few stairs to the floor his apartment was on. He slipped his key into the lock and turned it easily, pushing the door open. He heard the T.V. as soon as he stepped inside and toed off his shoes.

“Look who’s back,” Jason called. “How was school?”

“Meh,” Tim said, walking over to the couch where Jason was sprawled back with his feet on the coffee table. “Class was boring, but my researchers are excited about their new quarter. They’re working on new robot modifications. Their long term goal is to eventually get to a full AI powered android.”

“Sounds very _Star Wars,_ ” Jason said.

Tim chuckled. “A bit. But if everything goes well, we’re going to have C3PO’s running around in no time. Saw Bruce when I stopped by the office too.”

Jason hummed. “What did he want? Is he going to send over a babysitter to make sure we don’t get into any trouble?”

“Nah,” Tim said, dropping his backpack to the floor and sitting on the opposite end of the couch from Jason. “No updates and no babysitters for us thankfully. I think he trusts me enough to keep you out of trouble.”

Jason smirked. “He should know better than that.”

“I know right?” Tim said. “There’s a W.E. gala on Friday that I have to go to so you’re going to have the apartment to yourself all night. Order a pizza and chill on the couch or something.”

Jason smiled and ruffled his hair playfully. Tim tried to bat his hand away, but Jason pulled him against his side in a rough hug.

“You seem to be more active,” Tim commented.

“I’m on the mend, Timbo. Nothing can keep me down for long.”

Tim elbowed him in the side and crossed his arms. “Yeah, yeah, now what are we watching.”

~~

_Tim swallowed, choking back a groan. Jason’s lips pressed against his neck, kissing before latching against the juncture between his neck and shoulder. He sucked harshly, making Tim squirm underneath him. His heels tried seeking some friction against the mattress so he could have leverage to rub up against Jason’s thigh where it was between his legs._

_Jason’s teeth scraped against the skin of his shoulder, leaving a trail of heat against his skin._

_“So needy,” he said with a low chuckle. He pulled back and Tim could see where his pupils were blown wide._

_“Whose fault is that?” Tim hissed, running his hands down Jason’s chest. He pushed himself up so he could reach Jason’s neck and bit down against the soft skin, needing to mark back, needing to see the dark reminders of his want between them._

_Jason’s arm came to wrap around his back tightly, pulling him against his body. Tim bit his lip to keep his whimper from spilling from his lips. Jason kissed under his chin, blazing a trail of kisses up along his cheek._

_Tim knew he was feeling too much. They weren’t even doing anything yet and so many different emotions were surging through him like he was about to snap from the tension that was and wasn’t pulling at his muscles. He dug his fingernails into Jason’s skin, hoping he got the message and would do something-_

Tim woke with a gasp that echoed loudly in the silence. He stopped his breath and swallowed before letting it out in a shaky exhale. Jason’s thigh had slipped between his legs and rubbed against his very, very hard cock. He winced as he shifted away from Jason’s leg, feeling his boxer-briefs shift and rub the collected pre-come over the head.

He glanced up at Jason to make sure he was still sleeping and found his eyes closed, mouth slightly parted on gentle breaths. Jason’s arms were wrapped around Tim who started to pull away gently. He needed to either kill his boner or take care of it and he knew neither of those things were going to happen when he was in such close proximity with another body, let alone Jason’s body.

Jason frowned as he pulled further away, but luckily his grip didn’t tighten to pull him back in. Tim slid out from underneath his arms and shifted to the edge of the bed, each movement giving him the kind of friction he really didn’t need in that moment. He took a breath when he sat up at the edge of the bed and stood, walking awkwardly from the room and to the bathroom.

He shut the door gently behind him and gripped the edge of the sink, flicking on the light to see his cheeks flushed and his pupils dilated.

“Fuck,” he breathed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He dropped his head and saw where he was tenting his underwear, a heavy wet spot having formed over the head of his cock. “Okay, okay,” he muttered. “Think of something that could get rid of this.” His mind ran over several possibilities starting with Bruce walking in on whatever he was dreaming about-not gross enough since they were still covered by their underwear-to the possibility of Alfred knowing what was going on in that dream. He was ready to punch something when nothing was working.

“Looks like I’m taking care of this the old fashioned way.” He turned on the water in the shower and yanked his shirt over his head before shoving down his underwear, studiously ignoring the red shape branded into his skin. He stepped under the water that wasn’t quite warm yet and hissed at the temperature. His urge to punch grew when it did nothing to diminish his erection. “Fine,” he growled, turning his back to the spray and bracing a hand against the wall. He took a few deep breaths to dissipate the anger he was feeling and ran a hand down his stomach, imagining the warming presence of the water and the steam that was forming was a body pressing close behind him.

In his mind, strong arms wrapped around him from behind. A large hand followed the path of his down to his cock, wrapping around it gently. He shuddered at the feeling, biting his lip to keep any unnecessary sounds from pouring out. He gave himself a couple of strokes, sighing as some of the tension was finally released. The imagined body pressed more firmly against his back. He could almost feel a cock pressing against his lower back or sliding between his ass cheeks. His hand moved faster, chasing his release even as his need built impossibly bigger which shouldn’t have happened considering how tightly wound he already was.

He bowed his head as his breathing came faster. He swiped his thumb over the head of his cock and bit back a curse. He was close. Had already been close before he walked through the door. He just needed to push a little further.

The imagined grip around his stomach tightened and lips brushed against his ear. _“Come for me, Tim,”_ a husky voice whispered in his ear.

He shuddered. “Fuck, Jason,” he whined not realizing that’s who he wanted until it was out of his mouth. His eyes snapped open as the tension broke and he came in shuddering spurts. He stared down at his softening cock and the come on his hand in shock. The feeling of a body behind him disappeared as his brain tried to dissect and understand what just happened. “What the fuck?” he muttered.

He tamped down on the urge to freak out and turned to rinse of his hand. “Just forget about it. This did not happen. This didn’t happen. Nothing happened.” He grabbed the wash cloth and wet it, turning to clean away the come on the shower wall the spray hadn’t reached. When the evidence was gone, he shut off the water and stepped out, tossing the wash cloth into the hamper and hurrying to towel dry.

He side-eyed where his underwear was in a pile on the floor and sighed before yanking them on before his shirt. He knew he wasn’t going back into that room tonight. Not with everything that had just happened. He slipped out of the bathroom, giving one glance back to his bedroom. He could see where Jason was still underneath the covers, breathing softly. At least he hadn’t woken up from the shower.

Tim turned away and headed towards his couch. He didn’t have a blanket or a pillow, but he wasn’t exactly tired. He needed to do something to distract himself and his backpack was still resting next to the couch. He pulled his computer and earbuds free and waited for it to boot up. He had some homework he could finish. Hopefully that would keep him busy enough that he could stay distracted until the sun came up and he had to get ready to class.

Beyond that, he really hoped Jason wouldn’t wake up before he had to leave. He didn’t know how he was going to face him after having a wet dream about both of them and practically getting off at the thought of him. He was fucked. He was so, so fucked. And not in the way he wanted to be.


	11. Chapter 11

A muffled curse broke Tim out of his thoughts. He looked out the window and found the sun was already climbing into the sky. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping to drive away some of the tiredness and sleep that lingered after being woken up in the middle of the night. Jason’s head poked around the corner from the bedroom.

“How long have you been up?” he asked.

“Uhh…” Tim looked down at the clock on his computer screen and winced. “A while actually. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep so I came out here. Didn’t want to disturb you or anything.”

Jason nodded. “Right. Are you going to need the shower or do you mind if I..?”

Tim shook his head. “Go for it. I should get ready for class anyway. Don’t want to miss anything like yesterday.”

Jason nodded. “Cool. I’ll just head into the bathroom then.”

He nodded and watched Jason’s head disappear around the corner before he heard the bathroom door shut. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, letting out his breath. He hoped that Jason would still remain ignorant of what had passed the night before. He didn’t need to be teased over something like that.

Tim pulled his headphones from his ears and set his computer on the coffee table before pushing himself from the couch and padding down the hallway to his room. He grabbed a change of clothes and a pair of boxers he would’ve loved to have had in the middle of the night and whipped his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor.

He exchanged his boxers and pulled on his jeans, grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head while he turned to walk out of the room. He froze when he managed to get his head through the hole and was met with the sight of Jason standing in his doorway in a towel. His gaze latched on to the droplets of water clinging to his collarbone and he hurriedly pulled his shirt the rest of the way down.

“Sorry,” he mumbled skirting around Jason even as he face flamed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason murmured behind him.

He pressed a hand against his mouth and fought down all of the thoughts that were so desperate to cling to the image of Jason in a towel and what it would taste like if he reached out and licked the drop of water and… He bit back a groan and hurried into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee and searching for something to eat because something had to be better than being distracted by whatever was going through his head.

He tossed a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and reached for the jar of peanut butter in the cabinet, tapping his fingers on the top of the lid as he waited for his food to be done. He let out a breath when it was finished and tossed the pieces onto a plate before slathering them with peanut butter.

“Peanut butter toast? Great culinary work there, Timbo,” Jason said, looking over his shoulder.

He flushed. “It’s quick and easy,” he said with a huff, picking up his plate and turned to duck around Jason’s arm even as a hand came up and ruffled his hair.

Tim slid into the chair at the table that faced the kitchen and watched as Jason got to work making his own breakfast. He was more than a little relieved he was fully clothes. The less his attention fixated on how Jason looked, the better.

“Well, unlike you,” Jason continued, completely unaware of his internal dilemma. “I don’t mind putting in a little extra work for a delicious breakfast,” he said, cracking an egg over the pan on the stove.

“I don’t have enough time or energy to do that every morning,” Tim said around a mouthful of bread.

“Maybe I should cook for you then,” he shot back with a smirk.

Tim practically choked on his food when he swallowed. He put on what he hoped looked like a confident face. “It could be your rent for staying here. I can’t let you just mooch off me. Not when you’re already getting better.”

Jason shrugged. “Fine. If that’s what you want.”

“Wait, really?” Tim asked.

“Sure, why not?” he said, plating his egg and the toast he’d made before walking over to the table and sitting across from Tim. “I can’t let you really get annoyed with me anyway since we’re stuck together right now. I’m sure you’ll be jumping for joy when you finally get to be rid of me once this whole thing is fixed.”

Tim felt something sharp prickle inside his chest. “I don’t know if you’ll give me time to jump around when you’re going to sprint out of here as fast as you can once we get the all clear.”

“Right,” Jason mumbled, wiping the edge of his toast through the yolk on his plate.

Tim bit down on his toast a little more harshly than he meant to. If he really wanted to imagine it, something in Jason’s voice sounded odd and he almost felt something flutter in the back of his mind.

It was probably just something stupid with their connection.

~~

Tim knew he looked every part of the bored college student, but the amount he cared to change his expression didn’t outweigh the effort it would take to do so. The one good thing he could say about the day was that he was actually paying attention and taking notes. He didn’t need any repeats of the day before and it kept his mind from remembering a certain something that happened the night before. And earlier that morning.

At this rate if there were any more incidents he was going to lock himself in the bathroom just to avoid any potentially embarrassing interactions with Jason. Jason could have the bathroom during the day when he was away at school.

He packed up his things and tossed them into his backpack, trudging from the classroom behind the other students. He flinched when a small stab of pain rippled through him. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone typing out a quick message.

_Tim: What did you do?_

He tapped is finger against the back of his phone as he hurried down the front steps of the business building, long strides eating up the pavement when he hit the sidewalk and turned towards the parking garage on the opposite side of the quad. His phone vibrated and he unlocked it with interest.

_Jason: Just burned myself. Don’t worry about it._

_Tim: Burned yourself? On what?_

_Jason: Don’t worry about it._

_Tim: Do I need to call Bruce and tell him you’re breaking the rules?_

He could almost hear Jason’s sigh all the way from his apartment.

_Jason: I burned myself on the stove. I’m cooking._

_Tim: I thought you were supposed to be good at cooking?_

_Jason: Just because I’m good at something doesn’t mean I can’t make mistakes. I don’t see your body free of scars._

Tim blinked at his screen. Jason had complimented him, albeit in a backhanded way, but it was still something sort of nice.

_Tim: You just called me a good fighter._

_Jason: No I didn’t. I called you a puny, stick-thin vigilante with a body riddled by mistakes._

Tim rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop the fond smile that pulled at his lips.

_Tim: Nope, sorry. You called me a good vigilante. There’s no taking it back now. I’m done with classes and will be home in a little bit. Don’t burn my apartment down before I can get there._

He tossed his phone into the passenger seat with his backpack and pulled his car door shut before starting the car. He heard his phone vibrate against the seat and picked it up before he could pull out of his parking space.

_Jason: Just for that I’m going to set everything on fire._

Tim couldn’t help but chuckle at that because, really what did he expect?

~~

“I see the building is still standing,” Tim said, shutting the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes, leaving them in no sensible order and upside down before padding into the living room. He raised an eyebrow when he found the living room and kitchen empty. “Jason?” he asked, dropping his backpack next to the couch before walking down the hallway to the bathroom.

The bed was empty and still made from when Tim assumed Jason made it that morning. Tim turned to the bathroom and found that empty, too. He walked back out to the living room and turned in a circle, stumped as to where Jason could’ve gone. Tim made his way into the kitchen and found the sink filled with dirty dishes that hadn’t been cleaned yet, but no food on the counter.

Curious, he pulled open the fridge but didn’t find any new additions to their selection of food.

“You’re back!”

Tim straightened from where he was bent in front of the fridge and looked over his shoulder to find Jason halfway through the living room window.

“What were you doing on the fire escape?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Don’t give me that look. I wasn’t doing anything dangerous or vigilante related,” he said, pulling Tim away from the fridge.

“Then what were you doing?”

“In time,” Jason said, dragging him towards the window. Jason crawled through first before holding out a hand for Tim who took it with a raised eyebrow.

“I am capable of getting out onto my own fire escape, you know,” he said, climbing the stairs after Jason. “I do it all the time.”

“I know you do, Timbo, but that doesn’t mean it’s not nice to have someone look after you from time to time.”

Jason’s grin stretched wider and wider the closer they got to the roof and Tim almost wanted to slow his steps for fear of what was coming.

“It’s nothing bad,” Jason huffed, grabbing his arm and making him hurry up the last few steps until he was able to see over the edge of the building. Tim blinked when a table covered with bowls came into view. “Ta-da!” Jason said proudly, arm sweeping out.

“What is all this?” Tim asked, stepping over the roof ledge so he could walk over to the table.

“I guess as a way of saying thanks. You didn’t have to let me stay here, well you did if you didn’t want to get stuck in the Manor with me, and it hasn’t been so bad. Plus it’s the end of the week and what’s better than having a relaxing night where we can eat and forget about everything else?”

Tim looked over his shoulder at Jason who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was staring past him at the table of food. The sight made him smile. “Thanks. It looks good. Or is this just you buttering me up because I’m going to be at a gala tomorrow and you get the place to yourself?” he asked, smirk tugging at his lips.

“No,” Jason scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Geez, can’t I just do something nice?”

Tim chuckled. “It is nice. Can we?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tim followed Jason over to the table and watched as he pulled the lid off a plate of stakes and uncovered a bowl of mashed potatoes. There was even a breadbasket and a couple of beers for them to drink and some water.

Jason nudged Tim’s leg with his foot. “Take a seat,” he said. “I’ll get you some food.”

“Uh, sure.” Tim sat in one of the folding chairs and watched as Jason divided the steaks and potatoes. “Where did you get this table from anyway?”

Jason smirked. “I have my ways.”

“You didn’t steal it, did you?” Tim asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Please,” he scoffed. “Give me a little credit.”

“Have you met you?” Tim shot back, picking up his fork when a plate was plopped down in front of him with more force than necessary.

Jason sat down in his chair and stared over the table at him before sighing. “You have a point,” he agreed.

Tim grinned and shoved a forkful of potatoes in his mouth, stopping short at how creamy and buttery they tasted.

“Well?” Jason asked, watching him.

“What the fuck?” he muttered.

“What, are they bad?” Jason asked, panic taking over his expression as he looked at his own plate and hurried to shove a bite in his mouth. “But they taste…fine,” he trailed off looking up at Tim.

“How did you get these to taste as good as Alfred’s?” Tim clarified, staring down at his food.

“They’re not as good as Alfred’s,” Jason deflected. “I just spent some time with him in the kitchen and learned a few things.”

“Not as good as Alfred’s… bullshit these are amazing,” he shot back, scooping another forkful into his mouth and humming happily.

“Thanks,” Jason muttered, picking up his knife to furiously cut at his steak.

Tim reached forward and pulled a roll from the bowl in the middle, breaking it open and watching steam rise. He took a bite and hummed happily. “If you do this more often, I might not let you leave when we’re fixed.”

Jason chuckled. “Don’t expect this from me. You need to learn how to cook for yourself.”

“Why should I have to do that when you’re cooking’s so good? Nothing I make will ever stand up to it,” Tim complained woefully, staring at the deliciously pink center of his steak.

“Then I guess you better start learning how to cook,” Jason shot back.

“Weren’t you supposed to teach me how to do that anyway?” Tim asked.

“Consider this your first lesson.”

Tim hummed as he chewed. “Are all of the lessons going to include food?”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “It’s called cooking, Tim. You can’t learn how to cook without making food.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad, then.”

Tim’s gaze drifted over the Gotham landscape and the early evening sunlight that still cascaded and glinted off the buildings. He caught sight of a bird circling above a building.

“What’s on your mind?” Jason asked.

Tim shrugged. “Nothing much. Gotham’s just so much different up here.”

“We’re on the rooftops all the time.”

“Yeah, but we’re never just on the rooftops, you know?” he asked, turning to look at Jason whose gaze was sweeping the landscape.

“Yeah…”

A breeze ruffled his hair and Tim stared as memories from that morning came to mind. He turned his attention back to his plate, picking up his fork and giving Jason another minute to revel in something that seemed too private for Tim to share.

 ~~

Tim sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m so full.”

“Too full for dessert?” Jason asked.

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Depends? What’d you make?”

“Chocolate.”

Tim groaned and let his head fall back so he was staring up at the sky that was quickly starting to darken.

“Fuck, okay,” he said, quickly.

Jason grinned. “Be right back.”

He disappeared over the building edge and even with the impressive vault he did over the side, barely made a sound when he landed on the rickety metal. If Tim had been anyone else he might’ve been impressed by it even though they didn’t need to be quiet. They had every right to be up on the rooftop out of costume.

“Here we are,” Jason said, jumping back over the side with a saran-wrapped plate in his hands.

“Where were you hiding that?” Tim asked when he caught sight of the pieces of chocolate cake. “I didn’t see it when I was snooping around the kitchen.”

He grinned and pulled off the wrapping, pulling his chair around to the side so they could both eat off the same plate. “You obviously didn’t check the microwave then.”

Tim twirled his fork between his fingers. “You need to be more careful about giving up your secrets, Jay.”

Jason shrugged and scooped up a bite of cake. “My ability to have secrets at the moment is already limited if you’ve forgotten. We’re sharing the same small space and if I were to get myself into any trouble, you’d know about it.”

“True.” Tim hummed and closed his eyes at the rich taste of the cake. “Did you make this?” he asked, scooping up a stray bit of frosting.

“Not this time,” Jason said. “I ran out of time so I popped into the bakery around the corner and bought two slices of cake.”

“Bakery?” Tim asked.

Jason quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t know about the bakery that’s literally right over there?” he asked, pointing towards the end of the row of buildings on their block.

“Um…no?”

Jason sighed and shook his head. “You seriously need to get out more. Geez. We need to get you a hobby or something. Maybe take you on a running tour of the city.”

“I’ve had plenty of running tours of the city,” he shot back.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Rooftops are a lot different from the street. You miss out on a lot of little things.”

“Would a tour of the city be breaking Bruce’s stay safe rule?” Tim mused, propping his chin in the palm of his hand.

Jason grinned. “What he doesn’t know…”

“Maybe we can work one in. I’m interested to know what else you’re hiding from me about Gotham.”

Jason shook his head and stole the piece of cake Tim was going for. “There are lots of things you don’t know about Gotham, Tim.”

Tim pouted at his lost bite of cake. “Even though I fight crime?”

Jason nodded. “Even though you fight crime.”

The sound of a siren in the distance pulled their attention from the conversation and the food. Tim felt a spark of…something in his chest. Longing? Desire? He wasn’t sure. And he wasn’t sure if it was his own or Jason’s. Or maybe it was both of theirs.

Tim’s gaze dropped from the horizon to the table in front of him. He pushed away his conflicting thoughts and grabbed the bite of cake Jason was reaching for making him protest and pulling a chocolaty smirk across Tim’s lips.


	12. Chapter 12

Tim straightened his tie and flattened it down on top of his dress shirt. He buttoned his jacket and ran a hand through his hair to make sure it didn’t make him look stuffy.

“You done?” Jason asked.

Tim raised an eyebrow and turned from one side to the other to give one last check of his suit. “You in a hurry to get rid of me or something? If I didn’t know any better I wouldn’t have thought you would’ve had the decency to cook me dinner last night.”

He smirked and turned to face Jason who was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. “You’re gonna be late if you take much longer.”

Tim shrugged. “Might as well let the Gala get started before I have to make my entrance. But I’ll get out of your hair. Enjoy your night alone and don’t burn my apartment down. Or hurt yourself. I don’t need to suddenly collapse in the middle of the Gala. Too many questions.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason said, pushing him towards the door. “Just get going and let me have my peace.”

The warmth of Jason’s palm lingered on his back as he headed down to the garage. Realistically, he knew Jason was probably just going to veg out on the couch so he had nothing to worry about. But there was a part of him deep inside that was telling him to go back and stay in too. Attending a gala was the last thing on his mind. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with rich socialites.

He slid into the front seat of his car and thought there was one consolation to everything: if he really had to, he could easily duck out of the party early and head home to get changed into something more comfortable.

Tim smiled and turned the key. He imagined the look on Jason’s face if he got back early. He’d probably be more annoyed than anything. Maybe Tim _would_ leave early. It was fun being a little shit sometimes. Or maybe that was just Jason rubbing off on him.

The streets were mostly clear aside from the crowds of paparazzi surrounding the hall. Tim swung around the back where the cars for the more prestigious guests were stored. He parked in his spot and pocketed the keys before walking through the back entrance and the halls towards the music and murmurs of conversation.

Tim peeked around the corner at where the bright lights were making sparkles shine off the chandeliers and the jewelry the older women were wearing. He took a minute to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in his suit before stepping around the corner and skirting around the back wall to keep anyone from noticing him right away.

He swooped behind one of the servers and swiped a glass of champagne, taking a deep gulp to make it appear as though he’d been nursing it so far into the evening.

“Nice of you to finally make an appearance.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tim said, raising an eyebrow at Bruce who stepped up next to him.

“I’m talking about sneaking through the side door a moment ago. You were supposed to be here earlier.”

“Well,” Tim murmured against the rim of his glass as he took a sip. “I’m here now so that’s all that matters.”

“Not when I’ve already had to fight off a herd of socialites wondering where you were.”

Tim groaned quietly. “Who was it this time?”

“Mostly Mrs. Cline. She’s very adamant about speaking with you tonight.”

“Of course she is. Okay,” he sighed. “Where is she?”

Bruce smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll find you. Just go out and mingle and please everyone who’s decided to come around.”

Tim nodded and moved off, swirling the champagne idly in his glass without drinking. He smiled as he passed groups of people, offering polite nods to the less influential members of Gotham society.

“Ah, Mr. Drake, I was starting to think you wouldn’t be joining us.”

“Mrs. Cline,” he said, turning and taking her gloved hand, pressing a kiss to the top of her knuckles. “I’m so sorry for my tardiness. There was a bit of traffic on my drive over. It couldn’t be helped.”

Mrs. Cline smiled and wrapped her arm around Tim’s as they continued to move through the crowd. “You simply must update me on the progress of Wayne Enterprises. How is your research going?”

“Now, now, Mrs. Cline,” Tim said, patting her hand where it rested in the crook of his arm. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my boring work on a night like this. Please, you should enjoy yourself and drink some champagne and help yourself to the wonderful catering that’s been brought in for tonight’s event.”

“Well if you insist,” she said, placing a hand against her chest.

“Of course,” Tim said, waving down a server who hurried over. Tim handed a full glass of champagne to Mrs. Cline and they moved off. “Have you enjoyed your evening so far?”

“Of course. You know, I tried to convince my daughter to come tonight, but she was busy with her studies. She always finds some excuse to avoid these evenings. It’s a shame, really. I’m sure the two of you would get on splendidly. But as for me, I think the musical choice for this evening is impeccable. Mr. Wayne has found a shining string quartet.”

“That he has,” Tim agreed. She wasn’t wrong. The music was nice and steady in the background, but it was the same group they had at all the galas that were hosted. They were always treated as something new. Tim suspected it was for a lack of other conversation.

“I hope you enjoy your evening, Mrs. Cline. I must go around and greet the other guests before it gets to be too late,” he said, coming to a stop next to an ice sculpture.

Mrs. Cline pouted at him. “If you must, but conversation will be so dull without you.”

Tim patted her hand. “There will be time later for us to catch up later.”

She reluctantly let go and Tim quickly slipped through the crowd to get some space between them. He felt a warmth creep up his back and sighed, moving through the crowd back towards the refreshments table. Getting something to eat to offset the effects of the alcohol now would be better than waiting until later. And if he wanted to duck out earlier than he should, he’d need to lay off the drinks.

Tim set his half empty glass on a passing tray as he approached the table. He nodded to the people who were picking over the food and grabbed one of the small plates. He placed two delicate finger sandwiches and a small pastry on it, checking to make sure the coast was clear before slinking off to a corner to eat in relative peace.

He finally spotted Dick in the midst of most of the guests, talking and smiling. There was no doubt he would be coerced into a number of dances later. Tim bit into his first sandwich which tasted like every other sandwich he’d eaten at every other gala he’d attended. He shifted when he felt another prickle of heat and huffed, stuffing the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. It was early, there was no reason for him to be feeling the alcohol in his system so quickly. And the stuff that was served at these functions was never that good anyway.

Tim picked up his other sandwich and took a bite, swallowing it quickly. After finishing the second half he picked up the pastry and ate that in one bite, leaning back against the wall where he was hiding. He gave himself a minute to let the food settle in his stomach. He already felt more centered and dumped his empty plate in one of the trash cans that were set up around the perimeter of the room.

He pasted his smile back on and moved back into the crowd, making his rounds until he was stopped cold in his tracks by an unmistakable feeling in his stomach. His shirt collar was starting to feel too tight, the tie around his throat more like a noose around his neck. He tugged at his collar as heat soared up his back.

Tim swallowed, eyes roving over the crowd because there was only one reason why this was happening and considering the effect it was having on him, there wasn’t any way he was going to be able to hide it. He finally found Bruce’s head sticking up above the crowd and made a beeline for him, trying to seem as calm as possible even as he was dying inside.

Bruce looked up at his approach and must’ve seen something on his face. He excused himself and followed Tim to the edge of the room.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

“I gotta go,” Tim said, fighting down the shudder that threatened to move up his spine.

Bruce furrowed his brow. “Are you okay?”

Tim shrugged. “I-I don’t know. I think something might be up with Jason or something weird is happening with our link and I need to figure out what.”

Bruce’s gaze turned serious. “Are you in pain?”

Tim quickly shook his head. “No, I…don’t really know what’s causing it, but I can get you up to speed later. I just can’t be here around all these people.”

Bruce nodded and turned him towards the door. “Go. I’ll stop by after the gala’s over.”

“Sure,” he threw over his shoulder as he hurried around the perimeter of the room and slipped through the door he’d entered earlier. He took a minute to catch his breath even as the muscles in his stomach tightened and he could feel himself stirring in his dress pants. “Fuck,” he hissed and broke into a sprint down the hallway.

Getting to his car was the easy part, but as soon as he was in the middle of the streets and traffic, driving with a quickly building erection was something he knew he never wanted to repeat ever again.

“What the fuck is going on?” he grit out when he finally turned onto his street. He gripped the wheel tighter and swallowed down a groan as he shifted in his seat. He was going to give Jason hell for the mess he was getting him into tonight.

He parked quickly and pulled his keys from the ignition with shaking fingers. He locked it behind him, barely aware of the electronic beep and ran for the elevator, relieved when it opened right away. He pushed the button for his floor and slumped against the wall as the doors closed.

Tim pulled at the tie around his neck and loosened it enough where he felt like he could finally breathe again despite the building want under his skin. He swallowed down a gasp and met his eyes in his reflection. His cheeks were a splotchy red and he could see where it had already spread down his neck to his chest.

The elevator dinged at his floor and he stumbled from the metal box, keeping one hand on the wall as he made his way to his apartment door. He struggled to pick out the right key from his key ring and it took three tries before he actually managed to insert it into the lock and turn it enough to shove the door open.

He slammed the door behind him and took a minute to suck in a breath in the pressing silence.

“Tim?” Jason hesitantly called from further inside.

He steadied himself for a minute before striding down the hallway to the bathroom and shoving the door open. Jason flinched where he was reclining in the bathtub. Tim fought to keep his gaze off Jason’s adam’s apple when he swallowed.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed.

“Um…” Jason started. “What?”

Tim ran a hand through his hair. “I was in the middle of the freaking gala when I started getting an erection that was definitely not because of me,” he hissed, pointing an accusing finger at Jason.

“Are you sure you didn’t just find some nice socialite you like?” Jason tried to joke, tone falling flat.

Tim leveled him with a glare. “So, what exactly were you doing? And I hope it’s something innocent because I’d rather not have to explain my theories to Bruce because that would be incredibly awkward.”

Jason was quiet for a moment before his eyes dropped down to Tim’s crotch and Tim felt the temperature rise in a way that didn’t have anything to do with earlier.

“So,” Jason started, voice dropping low and gravelly, making Tim swallow. “Are you saying that you would’ve come in your nice dress pants without being touched?”

Tim reached out and gripped the sink counter as he watched Jason’s hand drop into the water. He didn’t have to see Jason stroke himself because he felt it. He squeezed his eyes shut as a shudder ran through him. He heard the water in the bathtub slosh and forced his eyes open to find Jason climbing out of the tub, his heavy cock bobbing with the movement.

Jason closed the distance between them and boxed Tim in with his arms.

“I’m going to do something, Tim,” Jason said, dipping his head so his breath washed over Tim’s skin. “And you need to tell me right now whether you don’t want it or not.”

Tim bit his lip, trying to keep his focus off how his muscles tightened deliciously in his stomach. Every thought from the past day and the wet dream he’d had tripped over itself in his brain. He spotted a drop of water on Jason’s chest above the vibrant coloring of Tim’s Red Robin symbol and licked his lips before meeting Jason’s eyes. Tim tilted his head back just slightly and Jason took the invitation.

Jason locked his fingers in the strands of hair at the back of Tim’s head and Tim gripped Jason’s shoulders, digging his fingers into the warm skin. Their lips pressed together and Jason forced his head back, sliding his tongue through his lips. Tim moaned into the kiss, easily sliding his tongue against Jason’s.

Jason groaned and pressed against him. Tim shuddered at the feel of his erection pressing into his stomach. It made everything he’d been fighting back during the gala surge to the surface, making him dizzy as so much blood ran south.

“Jason…” Tim said, voice shaky as Jason broke the kiss and moved his lips to his neck, shoving at his jacket and pulling Tim’s shirts from his pants, hands dragging across hot skin and old scars.

“I’ve been dreaming about giving you a blowjob practically all week,” he growled, dropping to his knees.

“Fuck,” Tim hissed and gripped the counter behind him as Jason pulled on the zipper of his pants. He pulled them down roughly and Tim shuddered when his underwear rubbed over the head of his cock. Jason froze and Tim knew he was looking at the red bat on his hip.

Jason gripped his hips before sliding his hands down to his thighs, fingernails digging into the skin. He glanced up at Tim through his eyelashes before leaning in and pressing a kiss to the red symbol. Tim swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment, searching to center himself. Jason’s lips traced a path down from his hip to his crotch, pressing a kiss to the side of his cock and wrapping his lips around the veins that stood out against the skin.

Tim’s breath left him in a rush and he wrapped his hands tighter around the edge of the counter. Jason flattened his tongue against the underside of Tim’s cock and licked a long stripe up to the head, making him whimper. Jason swiped his tongue over the head of his dick. Tim tried to shift, but Jason’s grip on his thighs kept him in place. Jason looked up at him and wrapped his lips around the head, giving a single suck.

 “Fuck,” Tim hissed again as he watched Jason’s cheeks hollow slightly. Jason’s tongue teased the underside of the head before he tilted his head down and took more of Tim in his mouth. He kept things shallow, only taking half of Tim’s cock between his lips as his spit wet the skin with each bob of his head.

Jason pulled off and wrapped his hand around Tim, pumping a few times as he sucked in a breath before swallowing him back down. Jason breathed harshly through his nose as he took more of him into his mouth and Tim let out a shaky breath. Jason rubbed his palms over Tim’s thighs offering comfort and support. Tim tangled a hand in his hair, bowing slightly when Jason sucked around him.

Jason’s hand wrapped around what he couldn’t fit in his mouth, grip tightening around him, but he didn’t move his hand. A muted whine rattled in Tim’s throat and Jason groaned. He pulled off, hand taking over at the absence of his mouth.

Jason nuzzled into the juncture of his thigh, pressing a kiss there. “You good?” he asked, voice husky.

Tim nodded. “Yeah,” he said, voice breathy.

Jason nodded and wrapped his other hand around Tim’s hip, digging his fingers into his ass and pulling his checks apart and making everything in Tim throb.

“Shit, Jason,” Tim gasped out, his breaths shortening as a wave of heat licked across his limbs. His stomach tightened and his thighs started to shake.

Jason lapped at the head of his cock, pressing his tongue against the slit and dragging it so slowly it was borderline painful. He closed his lips around the head and bobbed down again, lips and tongue sliding over Tim’s spit covered dick.

Tim swallowed, grip tightening in Jason’s hair, but he didn’t pull, leaving Jason to move as far as he was comfortable.

“Touch yourself,” Tim forced out between shallow breaths. “God, please touch yourself.”

Jason looked up at him and quirked one of his eyebrows even as his red lips were stretched around Tim’s cock. Rather than take the hand away from his ass as Tim was expecting, Jason reached down with his other hand and fisted himself.

The first slide of Jason’s hand over his own dick, drew a groan from low in Jason’s throat, the vibrations nearly enough to make Tim whimper. A more muted sense of molten pleasure stirred low in Tim’s veins. He knew this was what he’d been feeling earlier.

“Fuck, I can feel it,” he hissed. “I can feel what you’re feeling.”

Jason pulled off and smirked, lips wet and coated with spit. “Really now?” he purred, the sound going straight to Tim’s gut.

“ _Jason,_ ” he whined.

He hummed, working his hand over himself as his eyelids drooped. “My name sounds good on your lips.”

The muscles in Tim’s stomach coiled tighter and he just barely pulled on Jason’s hair, nails scraping against his scalp. Jason’s nails dug into ass, drawing a hiss from Tim and he knew there were going to be red lines across the skin. Jason ran his lips lightly over the skin of his cock and relented enough to cup his balls in his hand. Tim whined, torn between pressing into the sensations and pulling away.

Jason didn’t give him much of a choice, swallowing him down instead and sucking harshly. Tim bucked and shuddered, his pleasure mounting and mixing with Jason’s for a relentless combination under his skin as he was pushed closer and closer to the edge.

“I’m close,” Tim said, voice breathless.

Jason bobbed his head faster, lips and rhythm getting a little sloppy as he chased his own pleasure. The next time Jason was able to tighten his lips and suck, Tim was a goner, spilling down his throat. Tim shuddered, his pleasure felt multiplied. Aggressive waves slammed through him and left him panting and gasping by the time Jason finally pulled his mouth off him.

Tim’s head dropped forward and he stared down at the floor between their bodies. A pool of come was between Jason’s knees, some spots had splattered onto Tim’s shoes and his dress pants where they were shoved down around his ankles. Jason’s lips were red and slicked with spit even as he ran his tongue over them.

Tim hauled Jason up by the grip on his hair and brought their lips together, tasting himself on Jason’s tongue and licking Jason’s spit from his lips. Jason groaned into the kiss, fumbling to pull Tim close to him without smearing come across his back.  

“I guess,” Tim said when they broke apart, “we’ve learned something else about this connection.”

“Just so you know,” Jason said, voice low and raw. “It wasn’t the connection that made me do that.”

Tim swallowed as Jason’s eyes bored into his. “We should get cleaned up.”

Jason pushed him towards the door. “Go get changed. I’ll take care of things in here.”

Tim nodded, gaze lingering on Jason for a moment before he let himself walk out the bathroom door to his bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13

Tim bit his lip as he sat down on the couch in the living room. He was happy to be out of his suit and in his sweats. He could hear Jason rummaging around in the bedroom for his clothes and had intentionally avoided his eye when they’d passed in the hall after Jason had finished cleaning up the bathroom.

“I can hear you thinking, you know,” Jason sighed as he rounded the corner.

Tim opened his mouth to make excuses, but Jason cut him off.

“I told you,” he said, walking over and sitting down on the coffee table to face him. “It wasn’t the connection that made me do that. It wasn’t this need to get off or whatever. I could’ve just as easily taken a cold shower to get rid of it and that would’ve been the end of that. Now, unless _you_ were just using it as an excuse to get off, things are about to get really awkward.”

Tim sighed and rubbed his palm against his forehead. He was already feeling a headache coming on because of all the new stimuli he was being faced with.

“Hey,” Jason said and caught his wrist.

Tim looked up at him and he offered a smile.

“It’s going to be okay, Tim. You don’t have to figure everything out right now.”

He nodded and Jason dropped his wrist. Tim found himself missing the warmth from the contact. “We should probably figure out what we’re going to tell Bruce,” he said, changing the subject.

Jason hummed. “We could just tell him it was the bath water you were feeling. It would spare us a very awkward conversation that I’m not looking forward to having anytime soon. You didn’t give him any details that might contradict that would you?”

He shook his head. “I just told him something felt off. Which, if I was experiencing strange body temperature extremes, wouldn’t be so far out there. I think it might be enough to get him off our backs for now. There’s nothing we can do about it otherwise until Bruce figures out to reverse engineer the tech or find our mad scientist.”

“Hey…” Jason started. “How long do you think this stronger part of the connection has been going on? Like, it must’ve happened gradually leading up until now.”

Tim frowned and opened his mouth to respond but froze. He felt his face heat up as he thought back to the previous couple days and when he’d woken up in the middle of the night with an erection. He hadn’t thought anything of it then, but the fact that Jason had been in his dream had been surprising. And then when Jason had woken up in the morning, Tim had heard him curse and then had asked him how long he’d been up. Like he’d come in his sleep and wanted to make sure that Tim hadn’t known about it.

“Shit…” he hissed.

Jason narrowed his eyes. “You just figured something out, didn’t you? What is it? Please tell me it’s not bad.”

Tim bit his lip. “Not sure if it’s bad exactly…” he hedged.

Jason sighed and closed his eyes. “Lay it on me.”

“So remember yesterday morning?” Tim asked.

Jason frowned. “What about it?”

“Well, I was already up and in the living room and you asked me when I’d woken up,” Tim started.

Jason’s mouth dropped open and Tim was a little surprised to watch his face flush. “Oh,” he croaked. “Yeah, I remember that.”

Tim cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Do you remember anything about what happened in the middle of the night?”

Jason nodded slowly, his flush deepening.

“And…” Tim continued. “And did you happen to have a-a wet dream?” He asked.

Jason stood from his spot on the coffee table, sending it screeching back a foot. “I knew you must’ve felt something. That’s why you went out to the living room in the morning. God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen-“

“Jay, stop,” Tim said, cutting him off. “The reason I’m asking is because I’m pretty sure I had the same dream.”

“You mean, you and me on a bed and you rubbing yourself off on my thigh?” he rattled off.

Tim felt his face heat up. “Yup. Yeah, that would be it.”

“Which means our connection has been growing stronger this whole time even though we hadn’t realized it until now,” Jason added.

Tim was amazed Jason could go from reciting their shared sex dream to drawing the same conclusion he had in less than five seconds.

“That’s what I was thinking. I’m just not sure what this means in relation to everything else and if it’s going to get worse or if this is really all we need to worry about.”

Jason hummed and paced in front of him. “We should tell B that our connection is getting stronger. Hopefully that will convince him he needs to actually do something about this and fix us or let us go after the scientist because I can guarantee that we’d have a lot more success in getting the information we need then with how they’re doing it.”

“You know I can’t let you do that.”

Both of them flinched backwards, gaze snapping to the window where Bruce was standing inside in full Batman gear.

“Holy shit, give us some warning next time,” Jason growled, voice cracking.

“How much did you hear?” Tim asked, hoping it was after they’d wrapped up talking about their dream.

“Enough. We’re working as fast as we can researching this technology to try and figure out how to reverse it. Oracle is putting in hours each night doing research on the tech and searching for files that offer more background into what you’ve already collected. I don’t care if you’re healing and getting better. You are not permitted to patrol while you’re still stuck like this, is that understood?”

Jason scowled and Tim sighed.

“Now, care to explain to me what affected you so badly earlier?” Bruce asked, turning to Tim.

Tim shared a sideways glance with Jason. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “You see, Jason was talking a bath and because our connection was getting stronger, I could feel the temperature change of his skin. That’s why I wasn’t sure whether something was wrong or not because it wasn’t the usual sensation of pain we’d been dealing with. It was more subtle.”

Bruce nodded. “That’s concerning considering the information in your files. I’ll work to get this resolved more quickly. Let me know if there are any other changes in what you’re dealing with,” he said before turning on his heel.

Tim watched in disbelief as Bruce climbed out the window and grappled up to the roof. “Is he seriously just going to leave us like that after finding out the connection’s growing stronger?” he asked.

“It’s what he’s good at,” Jason muttered.

Tim hopped up from the couch, hands balled into fists at his sides, anger flaring in his chest. “What the hell?” he grit out.

“Tim?” Jason asked.

Tim whirled around and faced Jason. “I can’t believe him. We could be at risk of dying and he doesn’t even care.”

Jason blinked at him before he reached out, catching Tim’s fist in his palm. “He’s doing everything he can, Tim. He does best when he can compartmentalize and throw himself into work,” he whispered, uncurling Tim’s fingers and rubbing circles into the back of his hand to help him relax the muscles there. “You do the same thing, Tim. He’s going to help us. We’re going to be free of this.”

Tim let out a breath and forced himself to relax. “I hate having to just sit here. It’s like there’s nothing I can do and it just…”

“Tim…” Jason sighed. “Just like I said, you and Bruce are the same, trying to compartmentalize through work. We’re going to get through this. We’ve got each other, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you. We’ve got each other.”

Tim stared down at where his hand was in Jason’s. “I’m sorry,” he admitted. “I overreacted.”

Jason squeezed his hand. “Was bound to happen eventually. If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been me. And if I’d gone off on Bruce, it would’ve been so much worse.”

Tim smiled and huffed a laugh. He glanced up at Jason through his eyelashes and caught the gentle smile pulling at Jason’s lips. “He probably would’ve dragged us back to the Cave and locked us in the Manor saying something about not being able to trust us enough on our own.”

Jason chuckled. “You’ve got a point. Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way and you’re free from your evening of socializing with stuffy socialites, what do you feel like doing?”

“Uhh…” Tim tried to subtly pull his hand out of Jason’s and did it under the pretense of running his fingers through his hair. “I dunno. I hadn’t expected to have tonight free.”

Something flashed in Jason’s eyes that he couldn’t read and thought it was best to ignore. Until he felt something sour prickle at the back of his mind. He cleared his throat.

“A movie sound good?” he offered. “I don’t really remember what I do in my free time since I haven’t exactly had so much in a long time.”

“Workaholic,” Jason muttered. He pushed Tim back to the couch and moved over to where his collection of DVDs were kept, squatting down to examine them.

Tim felt awkward staying in one place. “You want anything to drink or eat?” he asked, stepping towards the kitchen.

“Sure. Whatever you’ve got is fine,” he said, still scanning the titles.

Tim nodded and hurried into the kitchen. He pulled a pair of sodas from the fridge and left them on the counter while he rummaged through the cabinets. He hadn’t gotten much to eat when he was at the Gala and was already starting to get hungry again. He found a bag of chips and dip in the cabinet and pulled those down, cradling the cans in his arm as he moved back to the couch.

He knelt and set everything down on the coffee table, pulling open the bag of chips and popping one into his mouth before he twisted the lid off the dip, the sound of the metal cap popping loud in the silence between him and Jason.

Tim made himself comfortable, leaning against the couch and pulled the tab on his soda, taking a gulp and wincing at the burn from the carbon dioxide. He dragged a chip through the untouched dip as Jason made a satisfied sound, standing from the shelves of cases and turning on the T.V. to load the disc into the player.

When he was finished he grabbed the remote and walked around the table, settling down next to Tim on the floor. He navigated the title menu and set the movie to play, absentmindedly reaching for the can of soda Tim had set out for him. Tim glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and watched him watching the screen as he pulled the tab on his soda, taking a drink.

Tim swallowed harshly and reached for the bag of chips, pulling another free and loading it with dip. He stuffed it into his mouth and crunched loudly, focusing on the food as he re-centered himself around the movie. It was just a movie and he was just hanging out with Jason. It didn’t need to be a big deal. His wariness was starting to get annoying. There was nothing to be worried about.

He reached for the chips and froze when his fingers brushed against something that was definitely not a fried corn product. He glanced down and found that he’d reached into the bag at the same time as Jason. Tim swallowed and grabbed a chip, sticking it into the dip to hide his embarrassment. Jason didn’t seem to notice and he hoped it stayed that way.

As Tim let himself get distracted by the movie, he sagged back against the couch, legs splayed out in front of him so he was comfortable. He pillowed his head on the couch, keeping the chips and his soda in reach. The tension from earlier was slowly bleeding out of him and he felt more confident that he could navigate whatever was happening between them.

~~

By the time their movie was finished, him and Jason had finished their cans of soda and started in on their seconds. The bag of chips was long empty and gone with half the jar of dip. As the credits rolled, Jason rolled his head to the side across the cushion where he was mimicking Tim’s position.

“Hey, you wanna order a pizza?”

Tim looked over at Jason who was watching him. He shrugged. “Sure. I could go for a pizza. You want to watch another movie?”

“Yeah. You pick out the movie and I’ll order the pie?”

Tim nodded and sat up, stretching his arms over his head and feeling a few places in his back pop from his position. He pulled his legs out from underneath the table and pushed himself to his feet, listening as Jason spoke into his phone and ordered their pizza. He knelt in front of his movie collection and scanned the titles, impulsively pulling one from the shelf, but he paused as he found something else he wanted to watch. By the time he was finished he had a small stack of movies in his hands.

He turned and found Jason watching him with a small smile on his face. He’d cleared away the empty soda cans and the chip bag and was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the table.

“Movie marathon?” he asked.

Tim shrugged. “I couldn’t decide.”

“Well we’ve got nothing else to do. Put one in and let’s get going. We can get started before the pizza gets here.”

Tim picked the first movie form the stack and slipped the disc into the player, leaving the other movies on the edge of the table. He bent over and wrapped his hand around the remote when the buzzer for his apartment sounded.

“I got it,” Jason said, pushing himself up from the couch. “You get the movie started.” He ruffled Tim’s hair as he passed and Tim sank back on the couch, hitting play. Jason’s voice droned in the background as he let the pizza guy up and waited for him to reach their floor. Tim looked at him out of the corner of his eye and saw Jason leaning against the door.

A soft knock sounded and Jason pulled open the door, taking hold of a pizza box before letting the door fall shut. He scooted past Tim’s legs and perched on the edge of the couch, setting the box on the table and flipping the lid open. He grabbed a piece and leaned back, taking a careful bite, balancing the hot slice in his hand.

Tim reached forward and grabbed his own slice, trying to get comfortable on the couch after his thoughts had gotten all jumbled yet again. The combination of warm food and the new film helped to center his attention and before he knew it, everything was blurring together and he was reaching for a new slice of pizza. Jason shot him a grin and he found himself returning it easily, thinking that maybe this was something they’d be able to do and he didn’t have to be worried.

For now, he let himself relax and enjoy the movie as best he could.

~~

Somewhere between finishing the pizza and the new round of sodas and a new movie, Tim ended up leaning into Jason’s side where they both slouched down on the couch. Their feet were braced against the coffee table now that the pizza box had been shoved to the side. Tim’s eyelids felt heavy and he was more than a little drowsy. He’d been fighting sleep for half the movie already.

“Tim?” Jason murmured.

“Hm?” he asked, head lolling too far to the side so it was pillowed against Jason’s shoulder.

“You tired?” he asked, shoulders shaking at what Tim assumed was suppressed laughter.

He shrugged, not making a move to pull away.

“Alright, time for bed,” Jason said, shifting underneath him until he could get an arm around his back to support him as he reached for the remote. Jason shut off the T.V. and gathered Tim up in his arms, lifting him from the couch and carrying him to the bedroom.

Tim yawned as he was arranged on the mattress and Jason took the time to tuck him under the blanket before moving around to the opposite side of the bed and curling up under the covers so he was facing Tim.

Tim’s face was peaceful, eyes already shut and breathing even as he let himself get pulled under to sleep. His hair was mussed and sticking up over the pillow, hands gently curled between their bodies. The sight made Jason smile and he let himself reach out and brush the strands of Tim’s hair back from his forehead, fingers lingering on the soft skin before he pulled away and let himself drift off after the long and semi-stressful day they’d had.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've literally been trying to get this chapter done for two weeks. 
> 
> Life has been keeping me so busy. 
> 
> Please enjoy my sad attempt at a fic update. 
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Jason blinked his eyes open and winced when bright sunlight shone in his face. He groaned in the back of his throat at the light and ducked his head to try and keep it out of his eyes. He froze when he caught sight of Tim curled into his chest. He was still asleep, face relaxed and lips parted on gentle breaths. Tim’s hands were curled between their bodies even as Jason’s arms were wrapped securely around his back.

Jason smiled and indulged himself in brushing a stray strand of hair behind Tim’s ear. He knew Tim was still uncertain about what happened the night before and he couldn’t really blame him since everything that _had_ happened was so quick between them, even when he’d tried to talk about it. But he’d give Tim time to think it over for himself and figure out what he wanted to do and what he wanted. As much as he wanted them to be together, he’d satisfy himself with anything Tim was willing to give him.

He sighed and finally pulled himself away from Tim. He’d let him sleep in as long as he wanted while he went and made breakfast. He paused as he slipped out of bed and tucked the blanket in around Tim to keep in the warmth. He hoped he wouldn’t notice his absence enough that he’d wake up.

Jason ran a hand through his hair as he padded out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. More sunlight streamed through the windows of the living room since the blinds had been left open from the night before. The sight reminded Jason of the night they’d spent on the rooftop and how the sunrise probably looked as good as the sunset. If he could ever convince Tim to get up that early.

He pulled the tub of coffee grounds from the cabinet and one of the filters to prep the coffee maker for Tim. He filled the top with water and set it to brew. The gentle hum of the coffee maker filled the silence in the kitchen. It was homely. Domestic. Something Jason never thought he’d experience in his life.

He rummaged in the fridge for the bacon slices he knew they still had and pulled them out with the container of eggs and one of the containers of premade biscuits. He hummed absentmindedly under his breath as he got to work. He tilted his head when he heard the shower start and looked over his shoulder, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the bathroom door being shut. He shrugged and turned back to the food in front of him, the smell of coffee getting stronger as he continued to cook.

Jason smiled as he set the scrambled eggs to the side next to the plate of bacon he’d already cooked. He grabbed a dish towel as the oven timer went off and pulled the golden biscuits from inside.

“Is that coffee?”

Jason smiled and set down the tray. “Yeah, I thought you’d want some when you…”

The words died in his throat as he turned to find Tim standing behind him, hair damp as he rubbed a fist at his tired eyes. He was wearing a tight shirt and had pulled yoga pants on. Without thinking, Jason wrapped a hand around Tim’s back and reeled him in, pressing their lips together. Tim stiffened in his arms, making Jason realize just what he’d done.

His eyes shot open and he pulled back, taking in Tim’s shocked expression and now clear eyes.

“Tim, I-“

Tim didn’t let him finish his sentence. He pressed forward, backing Jason against the counter as his fingers tangled in the strands of hair at the back of Jason’s head. He brought their lips together, pressing into him. Jason surged back against Tim, gripping Tim’s hips. He pressed him backwards, tilting his head down to deepen the kiss. Tim followed the movement, unconsciously stepping backwards to try and deepen their kiss further.

Tim’s back ran into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. They moved sideways and Jason slipped his hands underneath Tim’s legs, lifting him up onto the table. Tim’s legs spread easily and Jason stepped between them, wrapping his arms more securely around Tim’s back as he clutched at his shoulders.

They broke apart, gasping for air as they stared into each other’s eyes. Jason blinked at Tim.

“Um…I made breakfast,” Jason said. “If you’re hungry. Or if you just want coffee that’s fine too, but I made food.”

Tim stared at him for a moment, finally able to close his mouth and swallow. “Breakfast. Yeah, um, yeah.” He let his arms fall away from Jason’s shoulders awkwardly.

Jason stepped back, hands sliding away from where he’d been holding Tim’s body close. He made it about a step before he paused and looked back at Tim, closing the distance he’d just vacated as Tim reached for him.

Jason pressed Tim close, one arm wrapped around his back while the other cradled the back of his head. Tim wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist, angling his hips upward. Jason broke the kiss and trailed his lips along Tim’s jaw before pressing open-mouthed kisses along Tim’s neck.

Tim tilted his head back, eyes fluttering open as he stared up at the ceiling. Jason dragged his teeth along the sensitive skin and Tim swallowed, feeling heat bloom in his blood. Jason made an interested noise in the back of his throat.

“You like that?” he asked, lips dragging along his skin.

“Shut it,” he muttered.

His lips parted on a gasp as Jason nipped at the skin. Tim’s hand went to Jason’s hair and tangled in the strands, tugging at them. Jason grunted against him.

“Didn’t know you liked it rough, baby,” he said, voice dropping in pitch.

Tim shuddered, the sound going straight to his dick which had already taken notice of their position. He bit his lip and tried to pull Jason closer.

Jason's hands dropped to his ass and pulled at him, squeezing generously even as he pulled his cheeks apart. It made Tim throb in his pants.   
  
"Fuck," he hissed.   
  
"Bedroom?" Jason asked, voice husky.   
  
It wasn't where Tim had thought the morning was going to go, but so many things had already gone straight out the window compared to what he thought he wanted to do. He nodded and rather than letting him go, Jason hauled him into his arms.   
  
Tim tightened his legs around Jason's waist and clutched at his shoulders as Jason walked them through the apartment. He ignored the changes in gravity as Jason knelt on the bed and positioned him over the mattress, setting him down on top of the blanket.   
  
Tim's legs fell away from Jason's waist to drop to the bed, causing his crotch to rub against Jason's thigh with more force than he'd intended, ripping a gasp from his chest. Jason kept his knee in place and wrapped his hands around Tim's hips, rubbing his thumb over where his symbol was hidden underneath the material of the yoga pants.   
  
Jason hiked Tim's hips up in the air, forcing his shoulders to dig into the mattress as he directed him to rub over his thigh.   
  
"Shit," Tim said, throbbing in his pants again. His hands gripped the blanket, hoping to find something to steady himself as fire burst through his veins and sent his heart off at a gallop. "Wait," he interrupted as Jason made a move to control the movement of his hips again.   
  
"Problem?" Jason asked.   
  
"Roll over," he said, propping himself up on his elbows.   
  
Jason's brow furrowed. "What?" he asked.   
  
"Roll over and lean back against the headboard."   
  
Jason let Tim's hips go, obviously still confused, but complied, crawling around him until he had a pillow securely behind his back to soften the pressure of the wooden bed frame. Tim rolled over onto his knees and crawled over to Jason.   
  
Tim braced his hands on Jason's shoulders and leaned in close, lips brushing over the shell of Jason's ear. "Bend your leg."   
  
Jason complied, his hands returning to their place on Tim's hips and the warmth of his palms sinking into Tim's skin. Tim pulled back and stared into Jason's eyes as he pressed back until his crotch made contact with Jason's thigh. He closed his eyes as he rubbed himself over Jason's muscular thigh, going slowly at first so he could feel every drag and pull, making heat travel south until he was straining against the thin fabric of his pants.   
  
Jason swallowed and wrapped his fingers further around Tim's hips so he could dig the tips of his fingers into Tim's ass and pull at the swell of his cheeks. Tim shuddered in his hold, his breaths coming faster as he tried to rub himself more forcefully. He knew he was probably getting his boxer briefs messy, but he couldn't find it in himself to care when he was already becoming dizzy from the amount of sensation running through him.   
  
"Shit, Tim," Jason said. "If you could see yourself right now."   
  
Tim's mouth fell open on a pant and he looked up through his eyelashes at Jason who hauled him in for a kiss. Tim squirmed at the loss of contact, his nails digging into Jason's shoulders even as Jason's tongue slid between his lips.   
  
"Jason..." Tim whined, pulling back from the kiss. He pressed backwards, dropping his head when he got the glorious friction he was craving.   
  
"God," Jason said, head dropping back against the headboard.   
  
Tim's actions became more frantic against him as the muscles in his belly started to coil tighter. Jason took control as Tim's movements verged on sloppy, keeping his movements consistent and drawing a whimper from low in Tim's throat.   
  
"I'm so close," he groaned.   
  
Jason tightened his grip on Tim's hips, fingers digging more incessantly into his ass. Tim tried to swallow against the sudden throb that ripped through him. He swallowed harder, head spinning when a second, stronger throb went through him.   
  
He could feel himself getting closer. He was getting everything he needed, but it wasn't the last push to send him over the edge and relieve him of the tension in his belly and the fire surging higher and higher in his veins.   
  
Jason forced himself to loosen the grip his fingers had enough so he could reach further around Tim and press the tip of his index finger between Tim's cheeks. Prodding as far as he could against the resistant fabric of Tim's pants.   
  
Tim bucked against him, shaking and shuddering as he came violently in his pants and his breaths puffed in fits and starts.   
  
He fought to regain control of himself and shifted forward, his leg unconsciously moving forward to the point he accidentally pressed against Jason's crotch. He hissed at the sudden contact against his own erection.   
  
Tim glanced up at Jason and despite the fatigue and heaviness in his muscles, he slid the edge of his thigh across Jason's erection where he could reach. Jason curled forward, breathing harsh pants and Tim could feel the stirrings of some sort of feeling lying underneath his skin and prodding at the back of his mind.   
  
For a second he wondered if this was what Jason felt when he was getting off or if the sensations were different, but as he watched Jason's face twist up in desperation, he couldn't find it in himself to pursue that line of thought much farther.   
  
Jason came with a shout, pressing back against the headboard as he unconsciously pulled Tim closer. As he slowly came down from his high, he panted wet breaths into the air above them.   
  
Tim shifted and winced at the discomfort of the drying come in his pants. "I need a shower."   
  
Jason looked down at him and pulled him in for another kiss, this one softer and more meaningful than the desperate ones they'd shared before. "You go get cleaned up in the shower and I can change and then we can eat breakfast."   
  
Tim quirked an eyebrow, feeling more bold than he had in a while, especially now that it had to do with Jason. "What…you're not going to join me?"   
  
Jason smirked. "I didn't realize you were offering. Maybe next time you should make the implication more explicit."   
  
"Well, then Mr. Todd, would you care to join me in the shower?"   
  
"Of course, Mr. Drake. I could think of nothing that would please me more."   
  
"Is that so?" Tim drawled.   
  
Jason swallowed. He'd always expected a lot of things, but nothing like this. It had taken a long time for Tim to loosen up around him when they started working together on missions. Before that had happened, he'd assumed Tim was nothing more than a stuck up prude, but he was funny and smart and kind and amazing.   
  
And now he was everything he wanted in the world.   
  
He slipped out from under Tim and grabbed his hands, helping him from the bed and leading him into the bathroom. He dropped Tim's hands when they were inside and left him to shut the bathroom door as he turned on the water to warm.  
  
Arms wrapped around him from behind and Tim's cheek pressed into his back. Jason ran his fingers over the skin of Tim's arms.   
  
"Are you really okay with this?" Jason asked. "Is this what you want?"   
  
"I wasn't sure at first, but after this morning and last night...it's definitely something I never thought would happen in my life, but it's something I don't want to give up. I like this. I like...being with you. I like being able to touch you. I don't know if it's because of the connection or what, but-"   
  
"You know," Jason started. "Maybe part of it was because of the connection. But only because it gave us the push we needed to actually get to this point. Gave us an...excuse I guess to throw all the other bullshit out the window because I don't think this is going to end once the connection is gone. At least, I hope it doesn't."   
  
Tim's grip tightened around his waist and Jason fought to turn in his hold. Tim tried to stay behind his back, not wanting to show his vulnerability. Not wanting to put himself out there even though so much of that had already happened. Even though he’d seen the pain and frustration Tim was dealing with throughout all of this.   
  
Jason turned and tilted Tim's chin back and ducked his head, pressing their lips together in a soft and gentle kiss. Tim sighed against him.   
  
"I don't think I want this to end with the connection either," he murmured when they broke apart. "I don't want this to just disappear once this is all fixed."   
  
Jason smiled and cupped Tim's cheek in his hand. "And it won't. I sure as hell won't let it disappear just because we stop some crazy scientist from using us as his lab rats."   
  
Tim returned the smile and Jason nodded towards the shower.   
  
"Come on. We should get cleaned up and finally try to eat breakfast."   
  
Tim grimaced and shifted in place. "Yeah, I kind of really want to get out of these briefs."   
  
Jason stepped back, grin pulling at his lips. He tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor before pushing down his boxers and sweats. He stepped backwards and reached for the shower curtain, shoving it to the side so he could step into the tub. He pulled the curtain far enough to keep any water from splashing out of the tub, but not too far that Tim couldn't get inside with him.   
  
He heard Tim make a soft noise of disgust and chuckled to himself as he ran hands through his wet hair. The shower curtain swished behind him twice and he turned to face Tim who was looking up at him shyly.   
  
Tim dropped all pretense after a minute, stepping forward under the spray with Jason so he could claim a kiss of his own. Jason hummed and reached behind him, hand moving blindly against the wall before he finally got frustrated enough to break the kiss and look behind Tim to wrap his hand around the bottle of shampoo.   
  
He popped the cap on the bottle and poured enough in his hand for both himself and Tim. He lathered the shampoo in his hands and sunk his fingers into Tim's hair. He sighed, tilting his head back as Jason's fingers worked through the long strands and his nails scratched gently at Tim's scalp.   
  
Tim's eyes slid shut and he hummed, soft smile pulling at his lips. Jason smiled down at Tim even though he couldn't see him and lost himself in the feeling of Tim's hair.  
  
When he was finished, he directed Tim underneath the water and let him rinse out the shampoo as Jason washed his own hair. They switched places as Tim lathered the washcloth with soap and started washing gentle circles across Jason's chest and down his thighs. Jason fought down the spark of heat that threatened to spread at the sight of Tim kneeling in front of him and Tim glanced up at him almost as though he knew what he was thinking.   
  
And maybe he did, but Jason didn't really care if he did or not because he had Tim. Had him for more than just a good fuck or night in bed. And he hoped he could keep him around for a lot longer than he deserved.

"What?" Tim asked when he noticed Jason watching him.   
  
He shrugged. "Nothing important," he said, brushing it off and stealing the washcloth from Tim's nimble fingers so he could reciprocate.   
  
Tim looked like he wanted to object and say something else, but he shook his head instead and let out a little sigh. Jason pressed a kiss to the side of his head and the wet strands of hair plastered to his head. Maybe he'd tell him one day.   
  
Once they were finished washing off the excess soap, Jason shut off the water as Tim reached for a pair of towels, handing one to Jason as he stepped out of the tub. They toweled off and headed back to the bedroom, pulling clean clothes from the dresser to throw on.   
  
Jason ran the towel over his hair and returned it to the bathroom with Tim's before moving back to the kitchen. He stared over the now cold food and sighed.   
  
"It was such a good breakfast spread," he said, mournfully.   
  
Tim chuckled and wrapped his arms around Jason's waist. "We can reheat it. Besides, what we did was better."   
  
Jason dropped a kiss to the top of Tim's head to hide his smile, because Tim was right. It was better.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while, hasn't it? *nervous chuckling*
> 
> I was very busy finishing up the end of the semester and with graduation. But I've been back on a regular update schedule for the past two weeks and I'm hoping to keep things that way for now. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! We're finally getting back to some action hehe. 
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim frowned at his files. He hadn’t looked at them in days and had been considering them less and less, but now that he was leaning back against Jason’s chest on the couch with the remains of their breakfast dishes around them, his mind was finally unfocused enough to consider their scientist again.

“What’s got your good mood going south so fast, Babybird?” Jason asked, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

“Just,” he waved his hand at his computer, “all of this. The more I think about what’s been going on with these experiments, the more I realize how little is being done about this right now. It shouldn’t be taking this long to track down Robert Anderson. There can’t be that many people in this city with that name, even if he is keeping a low profile and trying not to leave a paper trail. There has to be _something_.”

He growled and ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the strands. Jason covered his hands before he could do much damage and slowly rubbed circles into them to ease out the tension and the threat of ripping his hair out.

“We can get this fixed,” Jason murmured. “And I have an idea of just what we can do.”

Tim stilled in his hold, smile pulling at his lips. He looked over his shoulder at Jason behind him. “I’m sensing something brewing that Bruce wouldn’t approve of.”

Jason’s grin was sharp. “And you’d be right.”

Tim wiggled out of his hold and set his laptop on the coffee table next to the plates and cups. He turned and crossed his legs, eagerly waiting for Jason’s explanation.

“Well?” he prodded.

“Now that I’m all healed, I think it’s about time we go patrolling again.”

“You’re joking.”

Jason shook his head.

“Okay, not joking. How do you expect us to pull this off when Bruce is going to have eyes on us all the time.”

“Who said we had to do this without him knowing?”

“So you’re looking to start a fight?” Tim asked. “And risk getting dragged all the way back to the Manor?”

Jason’s grin died a little at the mention of being dragged to the Manor, but he straightened. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take as long as I’ve got you there with me. Besides, he can’t really force us to do anything. We’re legally adults, and I’m legally dead so I don’t think him suing his dead son in court is really going to hold up all that much.”

“Unless he’s trying to plead himself insane,” Tim muttered.

Jason chuckled. “And we all know that the last thing Batman needs is to be locked up in Arkham with all the people he put there.”

“Batman aside, everyone would want to make pretty boy Brucie their bitch,” Tim added.

Jason stared at him for a minute. “Where have you been hiding your sass for so long? How has no one been murdered because of this yet?”

Tim’s grin was sharp. “Now where would the fun be in letting everyone in on my little secrets?” he asked, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Jason’s shoulders.

“Where indeed?” Jason agreed, pulling Tim more firmly against him and forcing him out of his cross-legged position. They slid down on the couch, Tim pillowed on Jason’s chest and he felt twin tendrils of warmth spread through his chest.

“What are we going to do until tonight then?” Tim sighed.

“Lay around on the couch. Do what we usually do and watch movies. Order pizza,”  Jason suggested.

“We can’t keep ordering pizza.”

“Sure we can!” Jason said, reaching over for the remote. “The vigilante lifestyle is great for keeping the waist trim.”

“Yeah, it’ll just add high cholesterol to our already high blood pressure.”

“No one’s blood pressure is ever going to be as high as B’s,” Jason said, smiling down at Tim.

“And it’s going to be entirely our fault.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth. Now,” he said, flicking on the T.V., “what are you in the mood to watch?”

Tim shrugged and hid his smile in Jason’s chest. “Whatever’s on. I’m just looking to kill time until tonight when I can finally suit up again.”

“You and me both.” Jason shifted underneath him and dropped a hand on Tim’s hip, thumb rubbing into his side. He started flicking through the channels, bypassing the news stations and the boring weekend shows that played in the mornings as they searched for something that was actually good to watch.

~~

“Jason stop,” Tim said as he tried to pull on his uniform.

Jason wrapped his arms around Tim from behind and lifted his feet from the ground. He was only dressed in his cargo pants and boots and hadn’t even strapped his leg holsters on yet. Tim had to keep from staring when he caught sight of his symbol on Jason’s chest because that was still something he wasn’t used to seeing. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be used to seeing it.

His stomach fluttered happily at both the sight of his symbol and at having Jason behind him. Jason pressed his lips to the back of his neck lightly enough to tickle and Tim squirmed in his hold.

“Come on, Jason.”

“Come on, yourself,” Jason said. “It’s still early and we probably want to wait a little bit for them to get out so they don’t notice our presence right away. It’s better if B’s in the middle of his patrol when we show up. Besides, I think it’s better if we head to an area where our lovely little scientist friend might be hanging out.”

Tim fought to turn in Jason’s hold even as his feet were hanging off the ground. Once Jason realized he wasn’t trying to break out of his hold, he helped him. Tim wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist, the top half of his uniform hanging below him from where it was connected to the waist of his pants. He wrapped one arm around Jason’s shoulders and carded the fingers of his other hand through Jason’s hair.

Jason’s eyes drooped at the sensation and he grinned. “Keep doing that and I’m not going to let you go at all.”

Tim paused. “That doesn’t sound so bad, but…we have somewhere we need to be.” He dropped his legs from Jason’s waist and the pull of gravity brought him to the ground. He ducked out of the circle of Jason’s arms and grabbed the top of his suit, sliding his arms into the sleeves.

Jason sighed and watched him before he snatched his undershirt from the dresser. He slipped it over his head and grabbed the plates of his body armor, carefully fastening them around his torso to avoid pinching his skin.

Tim pulled the zipper up and reached for his cape, clipping it to his shoulders before slipping his utility belt around his waist to secure over his hips. Almost subconsciously, his fingers brushed over his hip where Jason’s mark was hidden underneath the Kevlar. Jason tried to grab him as he moved to pull on his boots, but he slipped out of reach with a chuckle.

He heard the clicks of Jason’s holsters behind him and looked over his shoulder to find Jason shaking out his leather jacket. Tim smiled and grabbed their domino masks, passing the red one to Jason who took the chance to pull him against his chest. He pressed a kiss to Tim’s cheek making him squirm in his hold.

“You’re such a dork,” he said, holding up the domino to Jason.

“Not my problem.” He plucked the domino from Tim’s fingers and placed it over his eyes and slipped his helmet on after, locking the clasps into place.

Tim put his own domino on and slipped his hands into gauntlets. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the muscles loosen up. He flashed a grin over his shoulder. “Ready?” he asked.

“Of course,” Jason said. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

They shut off the lights in Tim’s apartment and slipped out of the window, climbing up the fire escape to stand on the roof as a breeze ruffled Tim’s cape. The sky was covered with thick clouds that smothered what little light managed to break through the pollution hanging in the sky.

Tim sprinted to the edge of the building and fired his grapple, flying from his building to the next. Jason caught up to him quickly.

“Do you even have any idea where you’re going?” Jason asked as they jumped the gap between one roof to the next, their boots making gravel skid in front of them.

“Nope,” Tim said, cheerfully. “I figure that we can head to the Narrows and see if there’s any suspicious vans around abducting people. It might give us a chance to see if Anderson is back to kidnapping new test subjects.”

“You got it,” Jason said, quickly changing direction to head to the worse part of town.

“Want to split up so that we can cover more territory?” Tim asked.

“Is that the best idea when we should be watching each other’s backs because of the whole possibly getting crippled by each other’s pain thing?”

Tim sighed. “This is going to be tedious.”

“Never said it wasn’t,” he agreed.

“Better get started before we get stopped.”

Jason pulled ahead of Tim on the rooftops and Tim pushed himself to stay with him. It felt thrilling to be running again. He hadn’t realized just how cooped up he’d been in his apartment without much to do besides laying around inside and doing schoolwork and anything else that might catch his attention. At this rate, he was already itching to get into a fight, the first dredges of adrenaline dumped into his system at the thought of beating someone up with his bo.

“Someone looks happy,” Jason said as Tim pulled up next to him.

Tim grinned and chuckled a little breathlessly. “I forgot about how great it was to be out on the rooftops.”

Jason laughed. “Me too.”

They skidded to a stop at the edge of the Narrows, looking down onto the dimly lit streets around them. The curtains were drawn on the surrounding buildings or windows were darkened, either to keep suspicion of would be criminals away from them or because they couldn’t afford to pay the electric bill to keep the lights on.

The streets were devoid of cars and Tim spotted one person in a black hoodie huddled in a darkened doorway. There was one other person several blocks down that was at the edge of an alley smoking a cigarette. Tim was surprised they were taking the risk since there wasn’t any traffic on the streets.

“We should go east and circle the edge of the narrows,” Tim suggested.

“There’s more likely going to be people out on the edges since they feel safer and anyone who’s picking up people is going to have an easier escape route without attracting attention or retribution from the other members of the Narrows,” Jason added.

“If there’s anyone that would willingly defend someone who’s being abducted,” Tim muttered.

Jason hummed his agreement and fired his grapple to the next building. They were in a more rundown area, but things weren’t crumbling so it was still safe to grapple through the streets.

Tim kept an eye on the streets as they moved further through the buildings. There were a couple alleys where hooded figures were huddled, some of them were homeless, Tim was sure others were peddling drugs, and more than one mugger was waiting for a victim to pass by.

Jason paused when they reached a cross street and Tim perched beside him. There was a black van on the street. It looked beat up and Tim was sure if they could see clearly, the sides where it was dented would have paint scratches and rust covering it. To anyone else it wouldn’t look like it was moving at anything other than a normal pace, but in reality the drivers were no doubt surveying the sidewalks and alleys for anyone that was nearby.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Jason asked.

“Yup,” Tim said.

Jason rubbed his gloved hands together. “What do you say we go in with a bang?”

“Don’t kill anyone yet,” Tim said, reaching to stop him as he aimed his grapple.

“I was thinking of dropping in on their van instead,” he said, firing his grapple and jumping from the roof.

Tim watched as he expertly swung over the street and loosened and retracted his grapple once he was suspended just in front of the van. The drop from gravity brought him down on the hood of the van, it’s wheels screeching as it swerved from the sudden surprise. Jason kept his balance with the movement and pulled out his gun, aiming at whoever was inside the van.

It braked harshly and Tim took the chance to fire his grapple and swing down next to it. He pulled his bo from his belt and extended it with a flick of his wrist. He looked through the side window and found two rough looking men seated in the car.

Jason squatted on the hood and waved his gun to the side, signaling the driver and passenger to climb out. They each put one of their hands up, moving to push the doors open with their other hands.

Tim saw Jason move first. He jumped backwards off the hood of the van before the men pulled out guns. The driver aimed a shot that broke the windshield, but Jason dodged. Tim spun out of the way, flattening himself against the side of the van. He swung his bo and smashed the window of the van. Glass tinkled to the ground and Tim didn’t give the gunman a chance to aim before he was shoving the edge of his bo through the window, using the side mirror to get a clear shot to his temple.

The driver shoved his door open and slipped out, but he didn’t make it a step before Jason aimed a shot at his leg. He yelled before crashing to the pavement, clutching at his leg with one hand while still aiming with his other. Jason blindly aimed around the side of the van and fired off a shot. He heard it skid against the pavement and cursed under his breath.

Tim ignored it and wrenched the door of the van open, pulling the disoriented passenger from the van and shoving him onto the road. He pressed his boot against the back of his hand that was holding the gun until his grip loosened. Tim kicked it to the side and bent to tie the guy’s hands behind his back. A bullet skidded past him and he jumped back.

“Hood get the gun from that other shooter,” Tim grit out. “He’s shooting under the van.”

“Shit,” he cursed.

The guy in front of Tim was already trying to reach for the gun he’d knocked out of his hand. He used the extended reach of his bo and shoved the gun further out of reach before whacking him on the side of the head. He groaned and slumped against the ground.

Tim turned and searched for a hold on the side of the van to pull himself up on the roof, but a pained yell sounded before he could.

“Fucking piece of shit,”  Jason muttered.

“Fuck you,”  the other guy spat.

“I’ve already got someone ten times hotter than you to do that for me.”

Tim bit his lip to stop the laugh from spilling from his lips. He sighed, finally letting his shoulders relax. He pulled a tie from his belt and knelt over the body in front of him, securing his hands behind his back. He grabbed the back of his jacket and dragged him around the van to where Jason as struggling to get the other guy tied up.

He sighed and smacked him on the side of the head, making him still long enough to secure his hands, one of which was bleeding, behind his back. Tim dropped his catch at Jason’s feet.

“Fucking vigilantes.”

Tim rolled his eyes.

“Shut it,” Jason growled. He knelt in front of the other guy who glared at him. “Now, you’re going to tell us what you’re doing prowling around the edge of the narrows.”

“I’m not going to tell you shit.”

Jason sighed. “Looks like this isn’t going to end well with you. Red, you might want to look away.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You don’t hurry it up and I’ll do it myself. I’m going to check out the van.”

The guy stilled on the ground and looked back at Tim sharply.

“Oooh so you don’t like that, do you?” Jason asked. He gripped the guy’s black hair and turned his head back towards him. “I guess we should see what’s behind door number one.”

Tim slipped around the back and grabbed the handles of the doors. They pulled open easily and he shoved the doors open, surprised they hadn’t been locked.

“What kind of bad guys don’t keep the back of their van locked?” he muttered. His eyes widened when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness within.

Muffled screams met his ears and he caught sight of two teenagers tied up and gagged on the floor. There was an array of tools and weapons attached to the sides of the van.

“Well, Red?” Jason asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“We’ve got two abductees tied up back here. It’s time he starts talking,” Tim spat.

“No, wait!”

“Shut it,” Jason said. “No one wants to hear your protests. The only thing we care about is information and you might as well give it to us before we get you locked up or send you six feet under if I’m not feeling so generous.”

Tim stepped up into the van and crouched in front of the boy who was staring at him with wide eyes. He reached forward and eased the duct tape off his mouth, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he immediately started saying.

“Shh,” Tim said, gently. “Can you tell me what happened to you? How long have you been back here?”

He shook his head. “I got picked up earlier tonight, grabbed from the sidewalk and beat around before they tied me up and shoved tape over my mouth to keep me quiet.”

Tim nodded. A pained yell sounded from beside the van and the boy flinched back.

“It’s okay. We’re just taking care of the guys who kidnapped you. Do you know what they wanted with you?”

He shook his head, eyeing the doors of the van behind Tim.

“Okay,” Tim said and reached for the tape over the girl’s mouth. She immediately screamed and Tim clapped a hand over her mouth. “Please calm down,” he sighed. “You’re going to be safe but we can’t have a lot of attention drawn to us. Can you keep quiet for now?”

She stared at him with wide eyes before nodding quickly. Tim carefully removed his hand, waiting for any sign she might scream again, but she kept silent.

“What happened to you?” Tim asked.

“I was grabbed on a street corner. I didn’t really know what was happening until I was tied up and thrown in the back of this van,” she explained, voice low.

Tim nodded. “Did they say anything strange to you? Maybe to hint at why they were taking you?”

She shook her head. “They didn’t really say anything to me other than that I should keep quiet and they wouldn’t hurt me.”

Tim nodded and opened his mouth to say something else.

A loud crack sounded outside of the van before a scream sounded. Tim sighed and backed off the two teenagers.

“Excuse me for a minute,” he said, stepping out of the van. He swung around the side and found Jason with his boot on the leg of the driver.

Tim sighed and shook his head, rubbing his fingers against his temple.

“What?” Jason asked. “What did I do?”


	16. Chapter 16

“Try not to scare the people in the van anymore than you have,” Tim sighed as Jason lifted his leg from the man in front of him.

Jason knelt down and gripped the man by the color, making him wince and hiss in pain as it jostled his now broken leg. “I think it’s about time you start talking,” he said, voice low. “Unless you’d rather have more bones broken or a bullet in your head. So, don’t make me ask again, what are you doing driving around in the middle of the night picking up people off the street?”

His eyes roved from side to side, almost as though he was searching for some kind of escape. Jason tightened his grip on his collar.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Okay, okay,” he sighed. “We were told to find people who wouldn’t be missed and wouldn’t put up a fight.”

“Why?”

He opened his mouth to reply when his head was forced to the side from the force of a bullet. Another one glanced off the pavement and Tim and Jason slipped around the side of the van, using it to shield themselves from the sniper that was shooting from across the street.

“Where the fuck did a sniper come from?” Jason hissed.

“Looks like whoever these guys are working for are being watched by their employers.” More bullets rattled off the side of the van. “And they don’t take too kindly to having their secrets spilled to vigilantes.”

“Get the other driver into he back of the van. I’m going to get in the front and get us the fuck out of here. We can’t risk the kids in the back getting shot.”

Tim nodded. “I’ll get both bodies if I can.”

“Fuck the second body.”

“It could give us information. There could be something on it because I’m assuming you haven’t searched the pockets yet.”

“Fuck, fine,” Jason sighed. “You get one body and I’ll get the other.”

They both darted out from behind the van, each grabbing hold of one of the bodies. Jason threw the dead body into the back to the muffled screams of the tied up teens. Tim shoved the body he was carrying inside as bullets rained down over his head. He clumsily climbed inside as Jason hurried around the side for the drivers’ seat. Tim pulled the back doors of the van shut as the engine revved and jolted forward.

“What’s going on?” the two in the back asked.

“We were getting attacked and needed to move,” Tim said, crawling over them to the wall that separated him from Jason.

“Is he dead?” the girl asked softly.

Tim sighed. “That’s not important right now.” He pulled the slat open and was able to see part of the front seat and windshield.

“Where are you headed?”

“As far from here as I can get,” Jason grit out, hands tight on the wheel.

“Any sign we’re being followed?”

“No, but keep watch out of the back of the van. I can’t watch all sides at once and drive at the same time.”

Tim stepped back over the bodies and peered out the rear window. He caught sight of a figure on one of the rooftops and he squinted, trying to get a better look, but the figure who he thought might be the sniper that had shot after them, morphed into the figure of Batman as he jumped from one building to the next.

“No sign of the sniper, but we’ve got an annoying tail on us,” Tim called.

Jason groaned as he jerked the steering wheel to the side, swerving down a side street and sending the people in the back sliding across the floor.

“Please tell me it’s not B,” he said.

“If I did I’d be lying.”

“Fuck,” he cursed.

Batman grappled from the buildings across the street so he could continue following them across the rooftops.

“You might want to find somewhere secluded to pull over. I don’t think he’s going to leave us alone so easily so we might as well get this over with.”

“Fine, hold on,” he sighed and swerved again, turning down an alleyway and reaching a small lot between the buildings. Jason threw the car into park and walked around the side of the van, pulling the rear doors open. Tim hopped down as Batman landed in the alley, keeping to the darkest of shadows even though there was no light around them.

“What do the two of you think you’re doing?” he asked, walking forward as the cape ruffled around his feet.

“Gathering intelligence,” Jason said. “Which would’ve gone fine if you hadn’t interrupted.”

Tim reached out and put a hand on Jason’s arm. He could feel the spark of anger flash through his veins and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t annoyed himself.

“There are two kidnapped teenagers in the back of the van.”

Bruce sighed. “I thought I told you to keep off patrol?” he asked.

“Hood’s healed and I’m fine. We’re working together so we can watch each other’s backs,” Tim explained. “We need to figure out how to fix this and you’ve done nothing so far so we decided to take matters into our own hands. And, more importantly, these kids would be gone right now if we hadn’t been here.”

Jason’s hand came to rest on his lower back and Tim leaned into the touch.

“Get the kids out of the back of the van,” he sighed. “And whoever was kidnapping them.”

Tim climbed back in the van and used one of his birdarangs to cut through the tape that was wrapped around their wrists and feet. He helped them from the van and Bruce immediately started talking to them and reassured them.

“I’ve sent in a call to the police. They’re on their way and they’re going to want to talk to you. We’ll get you home as soon as we can.”

The boy nodded and the girl wrapped her arms around herself, looking around the alley.

Jason pulled the other two bodies from the back of the van, the dead body thumped to the ground making the girl jump and the other man struggled, eyes wide as he caught sight of Batman now that he’d come back to consciousness.

Jason grabbed the hair on the top of the head of the man who was struggling and wrenched his head back at an awkward angle. Tim could see him swallow nervously and felt a spark of satisfaction.

“Now you listen to me,” Jason hissed. “You are going to tell me who hired you and why. What were you doing going around in the middle of the night to pick up people off the street?”

“I-I-I can’t tell you,” he stuttered.

“You can and you will,” Jason said, shaking him. “Who do you work for? A mob boss? A scientist? The government?”

The man stilled in Jason’s hold.

“Which is it?” he asked, shaking him.

“A-a scientist mainly. He tells us how many people he needs and what kind of people he needs, but we’ve also seen some government officials or important looking people around. We don’t interact directly with them so I don’t know who they are, but there’s someone important backing this guy.”

Tim stilled, feeling the blood in his veins turn ice cold like it had when he’d first been going through the medical files from the hospital. Anger mixed with his own anxiety and Tim watched as the man shifted uncomfortably as Jason’s hand tightened in his hair.

“Where do you take these people?” Tim asked.

The man glanced over in his direction.

“Answer the question,” Jason snarled and Tim heard the girl squeak behind them.

“I-I dunno!”

“You don’t know?!”

He winced. “What, what I mean is, I don’t know where they go in the end. I’m given a location to pass off the people and they’re taken to the holding facility or lab or whatever it is they’ve set up. I drop off the bodies and I get paid, that’s all I can tell you.”

“Where were you supposed to meet tonight?” Jason growled.

“The-the-the west end of the narrows. There’s a courtyard between a group of apartment buildings that’s large enough for two vans to get into. It’s the only one in the area and if you’re looking down from the roofs of the buildings you can’t miss it.”

“You better not be wrong,” Jason said, releasing his grip on his head. He slumped forward and sucked in a shaky breath.

Jason fired his grapple to the roof, flying up without looking back.

“Hood!” Tim called after him but he disappeared over the rooftop. “Shit,” he cursed.

“Red Robin,” Bruce said, voice low.

“I can’t leave him alone in case he gets hurt,” Tim explained quickly before firing his grapple.

“Red Robin!” Bruce called after him, but he ignored it in favor of tracking Jason’s progress across the rooftops.

He didn’t manage to catch up and Jason didn’t seem to be slowing until they got to the opposite side of the Narrows. He skidded to a stop at the edge of a rooftop and Tim landed next to him, bracing his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

“You could’ve waited for me you know,” he said between gasps.

“I didn’t want to risk them possibly getting away if they were already here. We don’t know what their schedule is for the pick-up,” Jason said. He fired his grapple again and jumped from the side of the building, swinging down to the alley.

Tim sighed and followed after him, gravel skidding off his boots. He landed heavily and looked around the buildings around them.

“Do you really think they’re going to show up?” he asked.

The sound of wheels skidding caught their attention and the bright lights from a van swerved around the corner. It raced forward, covering the small distance quickly as it aimed for Jason and Tim where they stood in the middle of the courtyard. An arm wrapped around Tim’s waist and Jason fired his grapple, pulling them both out of the way of the speeding van as its wheels screeched and it turned to face them, barely breaking before it was chasing after them again.

“Fuck,” Jason hissed and fired his grapple to the roof, pulling them from the ground as the van barreled through the space they’d been standing in a second ago.

A muffled clanging noise sounded and their progress upwards halted before they started falling towards the ground. Tim barely managed to catch sight of the severed cable of Jason’s grapple gun. He pulled his own free from his belt and fumbled with it, trying to ignore the pavement that was racing towards them. He fired off a shot, but the cable didn’t retracted quickly enough and it only managed to slow their descent as they swung down towards the ground.

Jason’s grip around his waist broke at the impact and they both rolled. Tim ignored the stinging across his skin, from both his and Jason’s impact, as gravel dug into him. He struggled to get his arms underneath him and pushed himself up onto his knees.

The lights from the van trained on both of them and the engine revved. A hand wrapped around his arm and Jason pulled him to his feet, causing them both to back up a couple steps.

“You got your grapple?” Jason asked.

Tim retracted the line and readied it at his side. “Yup.”

“Sniper severed my line,” he said.

“So we gonna run for it?” Tim asked.

“It’s not every day we get to try and outrun a van.”

“Split and head for the opening and then when we get cover use the grapple?”

“Yup,” Jason said.

The engine revved again and they both braced themselves. They didn’t even count off before they sprinted in opposite directions like they could read each other’s minds and knew the moves they were going to make. The van’s wheels screeched as it slammed forward and fought to turn to chase down one of them. A bullet glanced off the pavement next to Tim’s foot and he swallowed, pushing himself harder towards the mouth of the alley.

He saw Jason in his periphery and he reached out for him as they came back together, ducking out of sight in the narrow alley from the shooter. Van wheels screeched behind them.

“Hold on,” Tim said as he readied his grapple shot. Strong arms wrapped around his waist and he shot the grapple. The ground feel away from under their feet with a violent tug as they whisked through the air to the opposite row of buildings as the van burst out of the alley.

Tim hissed when they landed on the opposite rooftop. Jason’s feet landed first and the hold on his waist forced him to the roof harshly, gravel digging into his cheek and chin. He grit his teeth when the brunt of Jason’s weight landed on his back and knocked the air out of his lungs.

“You okay?” Jason asked, rolling off him. He grabbed his arm and helped push him to his knees.

Tim kept his breathing even through the lingering pain and gave a weak smile. “We should probably get out of here. I don’t know how long it’s going to take that sniper to track us again and who knows who’s in the van.”

“I’ll check and see if it’s all clear,” Jason said, moving to the ledge of the rooftop. He raised up on his knees and peered over the edge before ducking back down.

“I dunno about the sniper, but the van’s gone. Probably back to their hideout or base wherever that’s set up.”

“Shit,” Tim hissed, rubbing the lingering pieces of gravel from his chin. “We should get going.”

“And where are you going to run off to this time?”

Tim sighed, shoulders sagging before he turned to face Bruce. He had his arms crossed and was standing above them, large frown pulling at his lips.

“Care to explain why you’re out patrolling when I specifically said not to?” he asked, voice firm and unforgiving.

“Because you’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing,” Jason shot back.

Tim sighed.

“We’re taking care of it,” Bruce said.

“Look,” Tim said. “Like I said before, Jason’s healed and we’re both fine. Let us patrol together. We can watch each other’s back and make sure we stay safe. We need to make some sort of progress on this case. Those kids we found are proof that things haven’t stopped with us and something bigger is going on.”

Bruce sighed and Tim knew he would’ve pinched the bridge of his nose if he was able. “Did you even take the time to look over the van that you’d stopped? Did you take the time to learn anything about the kind of people we’re dealing with?”

“We were kind of busy avoiding the shots a sniper was firing at us,” Jason grumbled.

“I know and didn’t you find it curious that there was a sniper at the ready when this van was just going around kidnapping people?”

“Yes!” Tim said, throwing up his hand. “And what is your explanation for that?”

Bruce was silent.

“Look, we can help and we can fight. As long as Jason and I stay together while we patrol, we can watch each other’s backs and stay safe to make sure neither of us become incapacitated,” Tim continued. “If you’re that worried, we can have an alert made that can go out if something really bad happens to us.”

“Fine. I will allow it on that condition. For now, head back to the Cave and we will develop the alert immediately, but no more patrolling for tonight.”

Tim sighed, feeling like he’d managed to have one victory after weeks of being at the mercy of everything.

“Fine,” Tim agreed.

“Fine,” Jason said.

Tim turned towards the opposite side of the building and Jason followed.

“Oh, wait,” Tim said and turned. “You wouldn’t happen to have an extra grapple we could borrow do you? Jason’s cable got broken from the sniper.”

“You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it. You insisted on being able to patrol so this is the kind of thing you’re going to have to figure out in the field. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Tim rolled his eyes behind his domino and turned on his heel. He sprinted to the edge of the building and jumped across the alley, Jason following behind him.

“I guess we’re going to be pretty close as we grapple back across Gotham,” Jason said lightly.

Tim couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at his lips. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

They stopped at the first pass from one street to the other. Tim handed his grapple to Jason and jumped on his back, wrapping his arms and legs around Jason’s torso.

“Ready?” Jason asked as Tim tightened his hold.

“Yup, let’s go.”

Jason fired the grapple and made sure it caught before he jumped from the edge of the building. The speed of the fall wasn’t what Tim was used to, but the line pulled taught above their heads and let them swing from one side of the street to the other.

Jason landed heavily on the rooftop with a grunt and Tim felt a jolt of pain go through him since he’d been unable to roll to avoid the impact with Tim on his back. Tim released his grip and fell from Jason’s back.

“We’re going to need to figure out how to do that better,” Tim groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. “Maybe I should hang in front of you so you can roll onto your back.”

“You really want to try that?” Jason asked, retracting the grapple line. “I’m not sure how that could be much better.”

“I think it’s the only chance we have of making it work without you risking tearing up your knees every time you have to make a landing,” Tim said.

Jason sighed and rolled his shoulders. “Okay, we can give it a shot.”

They sprinted across several other rooftops before they came to a street crossing where they had to grapple again. Tim koala-hugged Jason from the front as he fired the grapple. Jason wrapped an arm around Tim’s back and gave him a squeeze before letting go to handle the line. He jumped from the edge of the rooftop and the line pulled as they swung over the street and up to the next roof.

Jason pushed off the roof and rolled on his side and back before using his hand to stop his momentum. Tim winced at the pressure against his arms and legs from the roll, but it was less painful than the first landing Jason had done.

“You good?” Jason asked, wrapping his arm around Tim’s back.

“Yeah,” Tim said, carefully extracting his limbs. “Let’s keep going.”


	17. Chapter 17

Tim pursed his lips and kicked off the floor, setting the chair to spin around in a circle. Jason reached out and stopped him from doing another rotation. Tim tilted his head back and Jason smiled down at him. He reached up and tangled his fingers in Jason’s hair. Jason’s smile widened as Tim pulled him down into a kiss.

The distant sound of an engine revving pulled them from themselves and Jason moved behind Tim’s chair, so he could rest his arms on the chair back as the Batmobile roared into the Cave and came to a stop. Tim raised an eyebrow as the door lifted and Bruce stepped out, walking over to them.

“Let’s get started on this alert, shall we?” he sighed.

“Already taken care of,” Tim said, holding up a small device in his hand.

Bruce stopped in his tracks. “You finished it,” he said slowly.

“You gave us a lot of time to sit around and do nothing,” Tim said with a shrug. “Jason and I each have one of these.” Jason pulled his own out of his pocket and held it up to show Bruce. “And when we press the trigger, it’ll send an alert over the comms with our location and send an alert to the Computer so we can be tracked remotely.”

“Let’s see it then,” Bruce send. “Since you know exactly how to handle this situation.”

Tim tapped the comm in his ear. “Everyone, we’re testing out an alert so bear with us in the next few minutes and don’t be concerned with what you hear over the comms.” He didn’t wait for any of the replies before he pressed the button.

The screen flashed red behind them as Tim knew it would and an alarm buzzed.

_“Warning! Red Hood and Red Robin in critical condition. All units requested in the Cave. Warning! Red Hood and Red Robin in-“_

Tim hit the button again before the announcement could repeat itself. It had come through the comms crystal clear. “All clear,” he reported into his comm before shutting it off.

Bruce pursed his lips. “Fine. I guess I can’t keep you from patrolling now.”

“Good,” Tim said, standing from his chair. “Looks, like that’s going to be all.”

“Not so fast,” Bruce said. “What do you plan on doing now?”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Well, right now I’m planning on getting home so that I can get some sleep. And then tomorrow, I’m going to hit the streets and get the work done that you should’ve already been doing.”

He felt a spark of something, he was pretty sure it was attraction or arousal, and his gaze slid over to Jason as he smirked. “You coming, Jay?” he asked as he turned on his heel to head for the bikes that were lined up behind the Batmobile.

Jason walked after him without saying a word. It wasn’t until they were seated on the back and Jason’s arms were wrapped around him that he ducked his head, so his lips brushed against Tim’s ear. “You couldn’t keep me away if you tried.”

Tim grinned and revved the bike, peeling out of the Cave and into the early, just-before-the-sky-started-to-lighten morning.

Jason’s arms tightened as they leaned into the turns and tore through the streets of Gotham. There was more than one person on the sidewalk who gave them a quizzical look as they roared past. It was unusual to see the vigilantes going deeper into Gotham this early in the morning, but they weren’t going to be around long.

As they skidded around the last turn, Tim pressed the button on the handlebar that opened the underground garage that had been built two streets over form his apartment complex. He didn’t slow down as they flew down the ramp, barely breaking when they hit the floor and the ramp started to close behind them.

He let the speed fall until he was cruising to a stop near the racks of supplies that had accumulated in the bunker since it was first built.

Tim shut off the bike and Jason climbed off from behind him. Jason pulled of his helmet and Tim peeled his mask off, running a hand through his windswept hair. Jason threw an arm around his shoulders and Tim draped his arm around Jason’s waist as they made their way through the tunnel that would lead to Tim’s apartment building.

They came up in the alley behind his building and grappled up to the roof, checking the area around them for any sign they might be seen before they slipped down the fire escape and through the window to Tim’s apartment.

“You want a shower?” Tim asked, speaking for the first time since they’d left the Cave.

“Only if you join me,” Jason said, reeling him in for a kiss.

Tim hummed and wrapped his arms around Jason’s shoulders. “It’s cute that you think I’d let you go in there alone when you’re naked.”

Jason grinned, teeth glinting in the low lighting. “I think I’ve had some misconceptions about you, Babybird.”

“Oh?” Tim asked.

“Yup,” he said, reached down to grip the backs of Tim’s thighs. Tim let himself be lifted and wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist as he walked them into the bathroom. He occupied himself with kissing Jason’s neck, wrapping his lips around the sensitive skin and sucking gently.

“Fuck,” Jason hissed, sitting him on the counter so he could extricate himself from Tim’s limbs and get undressed. “You know, when you were telling B off for not doing the work he should’ve been doing, I think that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Tim smiled, unclasping his cape and working on the other pieces of his uniform. “I thought that was you.”

Jason frowned, and Tim reached for him, pulling him in for another kiss.

“I felt that spark of arousal after I got done talking,” he murmured against his lips.

Jason grinned. “Guess I don’t need to explain myself then.”

“Why waste time when he can just get to the good part?”

“Why indeed?” Jason asked and started unclipping his holsters as Tim pulled him in for another kiss. He moved awkwardly, fighting to get out of his uniform without having to break the contact he had with Tim. He finally relented and pulled away to get his shirt and body armor off.

Tim sighed and hopped down off the counter, pulling the zippers open on his own suit so it could all fall to a pile on the floor. He hooked his thumbs under the edges of his jockstrap and lifted it, pushing it down his thighs far enough until it slid to the floor around his ankles.

Jason reeled him in again now that they were both unclothed and stepped backwards to the shower. Tim shoved the curtain to the side over his shoulder and they both stepped inside. Steam surrounded them once they were inside. Jason gripped his hips tightly in his hands and Tim grinned at the feeling and the possessive touch.

Heat spread from Jason’s palms and Jason rubbed his thumb over his symbol on his hip. Tim ducked his head and pressed a kiss to Jason’s chest over his heart, lips sliding over the mark of his own symbol, looking up at Jason through his eyelashes.

Tim felt Jason’s arousal stirring, both against him and at the back of his mind. Jason ducked his head and pressed his lips against his neck, kissing and sucking at the skin. Tim placed his palms on Jason’s chest and rubbed them back and forth, eyes sliding shut at the feeling of Jason’s lips on him. He tilted his head to the side, giving Jason more access.

Jason wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Tim sucked in a breath as his growing arousal pressed against Jason’s thigh. He hummed and tilted his hip upwards, biting his lip as his cock rubbed against Jason’s thigh.

As Jason bit into his neck, Tim slipped his hand between their bodies, seeking out Jason’s dick. He adjusted his hips and Tim wrapped a hand around them both. The first slide was rough, and Jason turned them, letting the spray run between their bodies. The second stroke was easier, Jason making it more difficult from trying to press close even as Tim needed the space to work his hand.

“Jay,” Tim sighed.

He groaned. “Tim.” He bit down on Tim’s neck, pulling a grunt from him. It stung and throbbed and Tim winced, hand stuttering. Jason pulled back and looked at him. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just…easy on the bites.”

“Sorry,” Jason murmured, kissing the spot on his neck. “I didn’t even feel that.”

Tim swallowed, feeling a sense of uneasiness rise. He fought to banish it, not wanting Jason to know he was unnerved. He jumped when Jason’s hand wrapped around his.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” he said against Tim’s neck. He moved their hands.

Tim gasped, thighs tensing as Jason forced his hand to move. Jason tightened his grip around his waist, guiding his hand with his own. Tim opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say or do instead of being at the mercy of Jason. The sensation and arousal running through his veins was intense. More intense than he remembered it being the last time they rolled around in bed. Everything inside of him burned. Every sensation honed on the feeling of Jason’s hand on him as he stroked them both.

“Jason…” he gasped weakly.

“Tim,” he murmured, lips dropping to his neck to kiss and suck. “You sound so sexy, right now. God, I wouldn’t mind bending you over right here.”

Tim grabbed at Jason’s shoulders, nails digging into the soft skin. His breaths became ragged and harsh, every nerve lighting up in his body. His stomach tightened further, and he hadn’t realized just how close he was.

Jason stroked faster, wrist twisting at the end of his strokes. Tim whimpered, head falling onto Jason’s chest. Every muscle in his body was tight. He was aware of everything in his body, and maybe outside of it too. He wasn’t sure as sensation after sensation barraged against him or built in his body.

He sucked in a gasp after the next stroke, coming hard against Jason’s hand. Jason continued stroking, working him through it as his muscles and body started shaking from the release. Jason grunted and came a few moments later.

“You okay?” Jason asked.

Tim struggled to raise his head and met Jason’s eyes. “Yeah,” he said and nodded.

Jason smiled, slow and sweet. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get cleaned up and get to bed.”

Tim nodded. He tried to straighten and reached for the shampoo bottle, but his movements were sluggish. His fingers fumbled with the cap and Jason pulled it from his hands.

“Let me,” he said and dumped some into his hand. He rubbed his palms together, lathering the shampoo before tangling his fingers into the wet strands of Tim’s hair. His movements were gentle, fingers scraping against Tim’s scalp.

Tim smiled, his eyes sliding shut as he fought to keep from wobbling on his feet. When he was finished, Jason directed him to tilt his head back under the spray to wash it out. Jason washed his own hair before he ran his fingers through Tim’s hair to push the rest of the shampoo from it.

He switched places with Tim and washed his own hair before he grabbed the wash cloth and lathered up the bar of soap. He washed in rhythmic circles against Tim’s body, cleaning off their come and the dirt and sweat from a night of patrol.

Jason washed himself quickly before he shut off the water and pulled Tim’s languid body against his. He pushed the shower curtain to the side and stepped out, helping Tim before he wrapped him in a towel and dried him as best as he would allow.

Tim sagged against the wall while Jason dried himself and wrapped a towel around his waist.

“Okay, come on,” Jason said with a smile. He pulled Tim to him and lifted him in his arms, carrying him from the bathroom to the bedroom. He pulled the towel from Tim’s waist and laid him out on the bed, grabbing a pair of clean boxers. He tossed them onto Tim’s face.

“Hey,” Tim said, pulling the shorts from his face.

“You can dress yourself, I don’t need to do it all for you,” he said, dropping his own towel in favor of boxer briefs.

“Yeah, yeah, just get over here,” Tim said.

Jason turned off the light and crossed the room with a smile that Tim couldn’t see. He crawled in bed behind Tim and pulled him against his chest, placing a kiss against the back of his neck. Tim sighed and relaxed in the hold, sleep pulling at him quickly.

~~

Tim opened his eyes and stretched, back arching against the bed. Jason’s hold tightened around him and he smiled.

“Tim…” Jason grumbled.

Tim wiggled around to face him. He cracked his eyes open and Tim wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He pressed their lips together and Jason rolled onto his back, pulling Tim onto his stomach.

Tim chuckled and grinned down at him. Jason gripped his hips and rubbed his fingers into Tim’s lower back.

“You hungry?” Tim asked.

“Sure,” Jason said.

Tim gave him one last kiss before he moved to sit up, but Jason kept his grip on him. “You have to let me up to have food.”

Jason pouted, and Tim rolled his eyes. He used his weight to roll back to his side of the bed, intent on breaking Jason’s hold, but Jason rolled with him, pressing him back into the mattress. He smirked, and Tim raised an eyebrow. He hooked his leg behind Jason’s thigh and pushed at his shoulder with his right hand. Jason landed heavily on his back on the mattress and Tim used his free leg to keep from rolling with Jason. He sat down heavily on Jason’s thighs before climbing off the bed.

“You can come, or you can stay,” Tim said, leaving Jason in the heap of blankets and sheets.

He heard Jason mutter something under his breath and he grinned. He stretched his arms over his head before relaxing, giving Jason one last look at his mostly naked form before he walked out of the room.

He pulled his coffee grounds from the cabinet and measured them into his coffee maker. He set it to brew and grabbed a mug. Arms wrapped around him from behind as Jason pressed against his back.

“You could make breakfast, you know,” Tim sighed.

“What do you want?” Jason mumbled into his shoulder.

“Eggs, bacon…whatever’s in the cabinet.”

Jason’s arm fell away, and he started digging in the fridge, pulling out the container of eggs and a package of bacon. He hummed under his breath as he got cooking. Tim poured a mug of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table after grabbing his laptop.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Jason said, and closed the top of his computer before he could really start working. “Breakfast first and then you can get to the serious work.”

“Jason,” Tim protested as he picked up the computer and set it on the counter next to where he was cooking.

“We’re allowed to patrol again and I’m not going to let you throw yourself back into your work when you don’t need to,” he said, pointing a spatula towards him with a raised eyebrow.

Tim groaned and pushed his chair back. He moved to reach around Jason for his computer, but Jason caught him around the waist.

“Just go drink your coffee,” he huffed, shoving him back towards the table.

Tim pouted, but sat down, taking the seat so he could stare at Jason’s back. Jason looked over his shoulder and he raised an eyebrow at him. Tim took a long sip of his coffee. Jason shook his head and turned his attention back to the food. He smiled against the rim of his cup as the smell of bacon wafted around him.

He stood to get a refill of coffee when Jason set a plate in front of him.

“I can get that,” he said, taking the cup.

“You sure?” Tim asked.

“You asked me to make breakfast, so why not,” he said with a smile.

Tim watched him and smiled, picking up a strip of bacon to take a bite. Jason sat down across from him and passed him his mug. Tim slid his foot forward under the table and hooked his toes around Jason’s ankle. Jason rolled his eyes but didn’t pull away.

They ate in silence, enjoying the meal. Tim was feeling happy and satisfied. The sun was shining through the window and there wasn’t anywhere else he wanted to be.

After they’d finished eating, Jason pulled out a book and sat on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. Tim had refilled his coffee and was back on the couch with his computer, his feet resting in Jason’s lap as Jason rested a hand on his legs.

Tim pulled open his case notes and scrolled through the medical logs, going down to the doctor’s notes that documented the first few days of the experiment. The notes that one of the groups had started taking on more sensations. He assumed that only reflected the amount of pain the whole group was experiencing, but the minimal logs didn’t offer as much information as he would’ve had from direct observation or experience.

Tim’s dread from the night before returned and curled low in his gut. He glanced up at Jason and found he was unperturbed and still reading his book. He bit his lip and opened a new file, beginning to type. He fought to remember his own observations, hoping to put together a coherent timeline for what was happening and match it up with the dates of when they were first experimented on and how things had changed.

For some reason, it made him feel more like he was taking part in documenting the sick experiment they were involved in. He couldn’t really deny it any longer that he was starting to feel more than Jason was. And a pleasant end didn’t seem very likely if he was being honest, no matter how many times Jason tried to reassure him that the same thing wasn’t going to happen to them as the first round of kids.


	18. Chapter 18

Tim jumped up onto the roof of his apartment, securing the clasps of his gauntlets as he took deep breaths of the air around him.

“Where do you want to start?” Jason asked, climbing up behind him.

“Might as well go back to where we were last night and see if we can track down another van. If there are snipers, we’ll be more prepared for them this time. We can also check out the parking lot where the other sniper was with the second van.”

“Sounds good,” Jason said. “Did B have any other information on the van from last night?”

“If he did, he didn’t share it,” Tim grumbled. “But we can make our own way just fine,” he said, rolling his shoulders.

Jason chuckled and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him against his side. “I like this new side of you.”

Tim grinned, teeth sharp. “You should since you inspired it.”

“Then let’s see if I can inspire something else in you,” he said before he darted off.

Tim chuckled and watched him swing to the next building over and take off in a sprint. Tim ran after him, launching himself from the building and shooting his grapple to swing to the next roof. He rolled with the landing, feeling a harsher sting on his back as he straightened and continued to run.

Jason had crossed a few rooftops before he stopped, waiting for Tim to catch up.

They kept close as they continued over the roofs of Gotham, keeping an eye out for any petty crime they might run over as they made for their actual goal.

Tim spun on his heel as they jumped over another alley. He’d looked down and caught sight of six figures inside it. Five of them were surrounding someone and backing them towards the end of the alley.

Tim jumped into the alley, landing on the shoulders of the one in the rear who was holding a knife. Tim used his moment and pulled him backwards. Tim twisted backwards, using his hands to spring from his shoulders and land in a crouch as the man was thrown to the ground with a groan. The others turned to him, many of them scowling and brandishing other knives and a bat.

Jason dropped down next to him and the group turned to face them fully. The woman who they’d backed into the alley scrambled backwards to get as far from the fray as possible. Jason pulled his guns from his thigh holsters, clicking off the safeties.

Tim pulled his bo free and extended it with a flick of his wrist. “Care to explain what’s going on here?” he asked.

“Fuck you!” the one with the bat spat.

“Sorry, he’s mine,” Jason said before jumping on the guy nearest him.

Tim smirked and whacked the guy who was still sprawled on the floor. He hit his temple, knocking him unconscious with one hit. Two men with knives rushed at Tim after he hit their other member. He blocked one of the arms with his bo and kicked the other man in the stomach before he could get close enough to try and swipe at him.

He heard Jason shoot two bullets behind him and heard a gasp and groan. He smirked. It felt good to be out in the field again. It felt good to _fight_.

Tim used his bo and slipped the end other his first attacker’s arm. With a flick of his wrist he knocked the knife from his hand, sending it spinning in the air behind Tim. The other attacker finally regained his breath. He rushed at him, hunched over and swiping wildly with the small knife in his grip.

Tim barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the desperate action. He brought his bo down on the man’s wrist, making his fingers go limp so the knife clattered to the ground. He kept moving forward and Tim sidestepped out of his way, letting him stumble past.

The two men sucked in harsh breaths. They shared a look, obviously trying to find some way to take Tim down together. Tim twirled his bo in one hand, the end coming down harshly on the ground with a thump. They jolted at the sound and he smirked.

Tim swung the bo again, so it was pointed towards the ground and spanned behind his back. He dropped into a fighting stance and held up one hand, palm upwards as he curled his fingers to gesture the two of them to make the first move.

Both hesitated, one of the men going so far as to take a step back. Tired of waiting, Tim surged forward, bringing his bo around in front of him. One of them turned to flee, but Tim caught him around his ankles, throwing his feet out from underneath him. He fell hard, groaning as he made impact.

Tim swung the other end of his bo around and caught the other man in the side. He yelped, falling to one of his knees and Tim heard one of his ribs crack. The first man tried to get up, but Tim pressed the end of his staff against his collarbone.

“Stay down,” he growled.

He nodded his head frantically and Tim used the toe of his boot to roll him onto his stomach.

“Hands behind your back.”

They both complied, and Tim collapsed his bo, sticking it in his belt before he pulled out two zip ties and secured their hands behind their backs. He straightened and turned to see how Jason was doing when pain exploded against his side. He staggered forward a step and pressed a hand against his side, feeling for a nonexistent wound.

He looked up and found Jason shrugging off a hit from a baseball bat. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and let it out through his nose, trying to breath through the pain that was taking its sweet time in dulling and fading away.

Jason pulled his gun free and shot the man with the bat in the leg, causing him to crash to the ground. He did the same with the other fighter who was rushing at him from behind. They both groaned on the ground and writhed in pain.

Tim watched as Jason knelt and tied their hands behind their backs, leaving them to bleed onto the pavement. He sighed and turned back to face Tim. Tim dropped his hand from his side and Jason froze.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” Tim answered. “Just…might’ve pulled a muscle. I’m not quite warmed up.”

Jason nodded, and Tim checked the relieved breath he wanted to let out. “I’ll put the call in to the cops.”

“Sure,” Tim said and fired his grapple to the roof, landing lightly on the gravel on the roof.

Jason joined him a moment later. “Ready to get going?” he asked, placing a hand on Tim’s lower back.

Tim smiled. “Sure.”

They took off across the buildings again. Tim felt a little more breathless than he normally did and something dark curled in his gut. He tried to convince himself that it was just because of the blow he’d felt earlier that was causing his breathing to be tighter, but that wasn’t as reassuring as he hoped it would be.

They reached the edge of the Narrows and Tim braced his hands on his knees, fighting to catch his breath.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jason asked. “You’re not normally this winded.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving him off. “I think my oxygen intake might need some work.”

“Are you up for patrolling tonight? Do you want to head back?”

Tim shook his head. He straightened and took a slow breath, getting his heartrate to slow, as slight as the actual change was. “No, no. I’m fine.”

“Okay…” Jason said, sounding uncertain.

“Let’s go,” Tim said, grappling to the row of buildings opposite them.

Jason landed behind him and Tim took a slower pace across the rooftops, taking the time to keep his breathing under control and inspect the streets more closely for signs of crime and their friends.

The alleys were dark and silent. No signs of vans or groups of people hiding out in the shadows. They reached the sight of the kidnapping from the night before and Tim jumped down to the sidewalk, inspecting the road and street.

Shards of broken glass glinted in the low light, but there wasn’t anything else. Tim huffed.

“I really thought there might be something else here,” he said.

“Well we did kind of break up their party. They had a sniper, so someone could’ve come through to clean up anything important that might’ve been left behind. Don’t worry. We’ll find something.”

Tim relaxed, Jason’s calm demeanor helping to stall the anger and frustration that threatened to rise. “You’re right. It’s just going to take a little bit of time, that’s all.”

“Come on,” Jason said, wrapping an arm around his waist to grapple back to the roof. “Let’s keep making a round and I’m sure we’ll find something. If it’s not a lead, at least we can stop some scum from hurting people.”

Jason’s attitude kept him from getting more worked up and worried. He had suspicions about what was happening to him, but that didn’t mean he had the right to freak out or snap at Jason for things he obviously couldn’t control. He just needed to stay calm and do what he always did on tough cases: put his nose to the ground and keep hunting until he figured it out and caught the bad guy.

Tim’s heart quickened when he saw a black van slowly roll around a corner onto an adjacent street. He took off, hearing a disgruntled sound come from Jason who followed him.

“Red, what’s up? What did you see?”

He didn’t bother answering, fighting to get his legs to move faster as he turned the corner of the street with his grapple. He landed with a roll, barely sparing a second as he was off like a shot, chasing it down.

The van slowed again, and Tim grinned, upping his pace to get closer and closer. It turned down an alleyway and Tim followed it to a courtyard nestled between a square of buildings. He slowed to a stop, good feeling dying as he read the sign above the garage door the van was crawling into. _Angie’s Cleaning and Home Care_ greeted him.

“Babybird, what the hell was that?” Jason asked, coming up behind him.

“I thought it might be a lead, but it’s nothing,” he sighed, disappointed.

“You can’t just take off after every van, babe,” he said, rubbing his hand along Tim’s shoulders. “You’re going to wear yourself out like that.”

Tim ran a hand through his hair and let out a slow breath, coming back to himself. “You’re right, you’re right. I just…got excited I guess.”

“Understandable considering everything else we’ve been dealing with. Let’s head back to the other end of the Narrows and we can check out the parking lot from last night. We don’t want to wait too long in case something was left there.”

Tim nodded and followed Jason, his movements feeling heavier as he got a little lost in thought, the sidewalks and alleys blurring together below him.

“Tim? Hey, Tim!”

He jolted. “Huh?” he asked, finding Jason looking in his direction. If his helmet hadn’t been on Tim knew he’d see him staring.

“Are you really sure you’re okay? We can head back if you need a night.”

“No, I’m fine really. Just lost in thought over this case, that’s all.”

Jason didn’t answer, and Tim knew he wasn’t completely convinced.

“Let’s just get to the courtyard,” he said, pulling his grapple from his belt.

Jason put a hand on his shoulder. “Tim, we’re already here.”

“Huh?” He looked down and found the courtyard below them. “Oh,” he said, voice small. “Do you remember where the sniper was from the night before?” he asked in a rush.

“Yeah, he was over in this building,” Jason said, walking along the rooftops until they were in the middle of the row of buildings. “I think it was the third floor…” he muttered, dropping onto the fire escape.

Tim followed him as they descended. He kept an eye on the other buildings and the ground around them, watching for any signs they might be being followed or had other backup keeping watch on the place.

“Hey, Red?” Jason asked, coming to a stop.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure people don’t intentionally break holes into the bottom panels of their windows.”

Tim peered around him and grinned when he saw the sawed-out circle in the panel. He knelt and ran his gloves over the bottom of the circle, feeling the slightly ribbed and melted edge.

“Whoever the shooter was, rested the barrel of their gun on the opening. The heat from the barrel caused the glass to warp as they took their shots,” Tim muttered.

Jason fiddled with the panel on the window. A moment passed before it clicked, and he slid the window up, climbing inside. Tim crawled in after him. The room was dark around them and mostly sparse aside from the chair that was pushed against the wall adjacent to the window.

Two doors led off from the main room. Tim skirted around the wall towards the one on the right. He glanced at the door opposite from him and found that it was dark behind it and pushed to. Tim pulled out his bo and extended it. He pressed a hand against the door and it swung open with a low creak.

Tim winced at the sound and moved inside the small bathroom. The toilet was missing its seat and there wasn’t a shower curtain hanging in front of the shower. The mirror above the sink was cracked. His eyes roved up to the ceiling and over the wall, not finding anything of note. He turned and stepped back out of the bathroom.

Jason skirted around the wall to the other door. Tim walked across towards the door, pressing close to the wall on the opposite side from Jason. Jason pulled one of his guns free and nodded, hand flexing on the grip.

Tim pressed his hand against the door, pushing it open carefully as the hinges squeaked again. He stepped through, glancing around the room when pain exploded against the side of his head. He gasped and fell to one knee, bo clattering to the floor.

Jason stepped over him, shoving the door the rest of the way open to reveal a shooter with a powerful looking rifle. The shooter fumbled backward, a cap low on their head as they scrambled to swing the barrel towards Jason.

He caught it in his glove and stepped forward, shoving his gun under the chin of the shooter and forcing their back against the wall.

“Don’t move,” he growled, grounding the barrel harder against the underside of their chin.

They struggled under Jason’s grip, fighting to break free, but he didn’t give any ground. He ripped the rifle free with the hand that was around the barrel and tossed it to the side.

“Now, you’re going to tell me what the fuck you’re doing here and what you were doing here last night.”

“Fuck you!” they spat, and Tim was able to think through the pain in his skull enough to realize it was a woman.

“I can do this the hard way if that’s what you want,” Jason growled.

Tim sat back on his heels and leaned against the wall next to the doorframe. He was dizzy and nauseous, and the pain still hadn’t started to dull.

Jason dug the barrel of his gun further into her chin and she tried to scramble backwards, but he kept her in place against the wall. “I’m getting impatient,” he snarled. “You have three seconds to tell me what the hell you were doing,” he said, baring his teeth. “Three…two…” He shut off the safety. “One-“

“Okay, okay!” she said, chest heaving frantically. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

“What the fuck were you doing here last night?” Jason asked for the third time. “And don’t make me ask again.”

“I was hired as a sniper to watch over the merchandise as it changed hands. I needed to make sure that no one got in the way or tried anything funny if the street workers started getting big heads.”

“And when we showed up?” Jason asked, pressing closer.

“They told me to kill you. Or seriously wound you. Whatever hits I could get were good enough. They know you’re tracking them and are trying to bust their operation.”

“Yeah, I bet they do,” Jason said. “And why were you back tonight?”

“Clean up and this is a pit stop for me,” she said.

“So, there’s another exchange happening tonight?” Tim asked from his spot on the floor.

He saw her wince and knew he’d hit the mark.

“Who do you work for and where’s it happening?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know the names of anyone important. I know that at the top running this show is some creepy doctor or whatever who’s leading the experiments.”

“Sounds about right,” Tim sighed, shutting his eyes as pain still radiated through his limbs. He didn’t think he was on the verge of throwing up anymore, but he was still feeling bad, which was unusual for the hit he’d taken. Normally, he’d just shake that kind of thing right off, if not immediately than after a couple minutes.

“Who else?” Jason asked.

“Some dudes in suits. I don’t know their names, but they’re secretive and wear sunglasses all the time. Only one of them really talks to me and that’s to tell me where I need to station myself. Besides that, they pretty much ignore me.”

“Suits?” Tim asked.

“Government,” Jason snarled.

She sighed. “Yeah…”

“Where’s the other exchange happening and what time?” Jason asked.

“The other side of the Narrows,” she said. “There’s a courtyard similar to this one on Brookes street.”

“Good,” Jason said. “You’re gonna want to get out of dodge because they’re coming after you next.”

She closed her eyes and even in the low lighting Tim could see how sunken her face looked. “Don’t I know it…” she said.

“When you wake up, pack and get out of town.”

“When I-“

She didn’t finish what she was saying as Jason brought the side of his gun down harshly on her temple, knocking her unconscious. He set her on the floor and turned back to Tim.

“We should get going,” he said.

Tim nodded and accepted the arm from Jason, letting himself get pulled to his feet. He swallowed back the sick feeling in his throat and fought to keep steady. He wasn’t going to last much longer, but he wasn’t about to lose this bust.

“You okay?” Jason asked.

“Fine,” Tim said, rolling his shoulders. He pasted on a cocky smirk. “Figured, I’d let you take care of her for me,” he said before stooping to pick up his bo. He walked back into the main room and headed to the window they’d come through, eager to get back to the other side of the Narrows.


	19. Chapter 19

By the time they tracked down the courtyard hidden between a cluster of buildings on Brooks Street, a van was already parked in the middle of the lot. Tim crouched down behind the ledge of the roof, using it to conceal his presence. He pulled a pair of binoculars from his belt and peered down at the van, seeing what he could gather from it.

Jason crawled up to the edge of the roof a few feet away and cased the rest of the courtyard, looking through the other windows for any signs of lookouts or snipers. The windows of the surrounding buildings were dark and there were no obvious blemishes or signs of a lurker.

“I don’t see any signs of backup in the buildings,” Jason murmured.

Tim snorted. “That’s hard to believe,” he scoffed under his breath. “Considering we’re working against government officials, you’d think they could shell out a little more cash to have snipers and guards.”

Jason shrugged next to him. “Or they’re just keeping all the big guns at whatever facility they’re using,” he answered, voice soft.

“I guess,” Tim muttered. “There’s a few signs of life in the van, but they’re mainly smoking and passing a bag of something back and forth,” he added, wrinkling his nose. He could only imagine what that smelled like.

“They’ve obviously been here a while,” Jason continued. “These don’t seem like the types of guys to just sit and wait for their cargo to be dropped off. Unless the other van is running late.”

“If it was they’d seem more anxious. Their behavior suggests routine. They might not care that they’re sitting around. If there isn’t enough evidence in the van to convict them, there’s nothing illegal about sitting in a van, smoking a few cigarettes and sharing some snacks from the convenience store.”

“As long as those cigarettes aren’t something other than tobacco,” Jason added.

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I thought that was implied.”

“Did you just…sass me?” Jason asked.

Tim raised an eyebrow and glanced over at him. “What about it?”

Jason shrugged. “Dunno, just…doesn’t seem very like you.”

“Whatever,” Tim huffed. He pressed the binoculars back against his eyes and saw the drivers in the van stiffen. He looked down at the entrance and found another van idling towards the first one. “They’re here.”

The two drivers of the first van scrambled out and stood around the hood, looking awkward and uncertain. Tim pursed his lips, curious about their behavior.

The second van drove around them until the vans were back to back, their rear doors near enough that they could both open, but whatever was being moved could be done quickly and discreetly. The driver of the new van stepped out and gestured to the rear doors.

“We don’t have all day,” he hissed.

“Right…” the passenger of the first van said, hurrying to pull open the doors as the new van was opened.

They reached and grabbed something, pulling out a struggling and stumbling boy and Tim blinked, everything clicking together as the abductees were transferred to the van that had just arrived.

“They were so relaxed because they’re new,” Tim muttered. “They don’t have tight security because they don’t know what to expect. They don’t know that they could be caught by us.”

“Makes sense,” Jason said. “We need to get a tracker on that second van.”

Tim nodded. “You have one with you?”

“You know it,” he said, pulling a round disc from one of his pockets. “I can get this on the van as they leave to take the cargo back to the facility. If we’re lucky the empty van will leave first to lessen the risk of them noticing the tracker right away.”

“Yeah,” Tim said, watching as four more people were shoved into the new van and the doors were clicked shut.

“And our payment?” the driver of the now-empty van asked.

Even from this distance, Tim could see the sneer from the more experienced drivers. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills.

“There’s your payment. Now get out of here and don’t tip off anyone as to where you’ve been.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered before walking around the side of the van to climb inside.

Tim almost thought the other driver was going to pull out a gun and shoot him because he wasn’t amused or impressed by his attitude. But he shook his head and climbed into the passenger side of the second van.

“You go after the first van,” Jason said suddenly.

“What?” Tim hissed.

“Go after the first van, get a tracker on it if you can’t keep up, and then we can go back and interrogate the drivers.”

“You really think we’re going to get any info from them?” he muttered.

“Info to stop future drops,” Jason said. “Just take this, I’ve got another,” he said, pressing a tracker disc into the palm of Tim’s hand.

“Shit,” Tim said and shoved the binoculars back into his belt. He pulled his grapple gun free and sprinted to the edge of the building, waiting as both vans turned in opposite directions down the street.

Tim clutched the disc tightly in his hand and fired his grapple to the building across the street. He jumped from the rooftop and swung across, rolling along the gravel roof before pushing to his feet. He ignored the sting in his shoulders as he cut across the building at an angle as the van turned down the next street.

The few seconds he managed to gain were enough for him to be next to the van on the roof. Tim fired another line and jumped from the roof, swinging down over the van in time to drop the tracker disc. He heard the metal click as it adhered to the roof and landed in another roll on the opposite roof.

He scrambled to his feet and hurried to the edge of the roof, watching the van continue down the street. If he was lucky, they hadn’t noticed the noise.

Tim kept back several feet as he followed the van, trying to keep out of sight. They weren’t moving fast even with the empty streets and if he was in their position, he would’ve wanted to get things put away as quickly as possible and eliminate any lingering connection he might have to the crime.

The van slowed, and Tim came to a stop on a rooftop on the opposite side of the street. He crouched at the edge and watched as the van drove down into an underground parking garage. He pressed his comm link and waited as it beeped.

“Whatcha got for me?” Jason asked when he answered.

“Tracked the worker van to an underground parking garage. Looks like the guys live in the apartment building above it. Or one of them does and this is where they’re stowing the van during the day. What about you?”

“I’m still trailing this van. It looks like it’s headed for city limits,” Jason answered.

“I’ll put in a call to Oracle and let her know what’s going on.”

“Sure thing. Meet back at the apartment when we’re done to compile case notes?”

“Not yet…” Tim said. “When you get done, meet me at my location. I want to get a better idea of these guys who are doing the kidnappings. We might be able to get some more information out of them.”

“Sure,” Jason said, the line going silent.

Tim switched frequencies. “Oracle?” he asked.

“Red Robin,” she greeted. “What can I do for you?”

“Red Hood and I are tracking two separate vans. One I’ve tracked to an underground parking garage, and the other is on its way out of town. Can you get eyes on the one headed outside city limits?”

“I’ll track the GPS and get you a map of its route and where it stops.”

“Great, thank you. I’m sure I’ll owe you a lot for this.”

“Don’t you vigilantes always?” she quipped.

Tim chuckled. “I guess so. Not to dump this on you and run, but-“

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, and Tim could hear the smile in her voice. “Get back to what you need to do.”

“Thanks.” He switched back to the line he shared with Jason and pulled his binoculars from his belt.

A light switched on in one of the upper floors and he stilled, focusing his gaze on the window. Tim had a clear shot of the door and watched as the two guys he’d seen earlier kicked off their shoes and hung their jackets on the coat rack inside the door.

Now that they were bathed in light he could see the tiredness around their eyes. Even if they hadn’t been doing this kind of work very long, he could understand the kind of toll it was taking on them. The shorter of the two said something and placed a hand on the other guy’s shoulder.

He smiled down at him and Tim blinked when the taller man wrapped an arm around the shorter man and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Huh,” he said as he watched them break apart, gazes soft. It wasn’t unlike how him and Jason acted around each other. He wondered what got them into the business of picking people up off the street.

Tim watched as they moved around their apartment, obviously going through their evening routine. They parted, one of them disappearing down the hallway while the other man stepped into the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove.

A light switched on in another room and Tim got a look into their bedroom, the taller man pulled a change of clothes from the dresser and stepped through another doorway that led to what Tim could tell was a bathroom.

Tim wasn’t sure how long he was crouched on the roof observing. It was enough time for the first man to shower and curl up with who Tim assumed was his boyfriend on the couch as he drank his tea. Once he was finished with his drink, the other man showered, and they crawled into bed, wrapped around each other and left to drift off to sleep.

Movement sounded behind Tim and he straightened, his joints protesting the movements after so long.

“What did you find?” Jason asked, walking up behind him.

“The two men from the van are most likely boyfriends. Don’t know why they’re working for a shady organization, but from how exhausted they look, it’s more out of necessity than desire.”

“So, they kidnap innocent people to be experimented on so they can make enough money to live?” Jason asked.

“Most likely,” Tim said. “Considering how tired they are, I doubt they have much loyalty to the organization.”

“Shaking them down for info will probably get them killed,” Jason said.

Tim shrugged and gripped the binoculars in his hands a little tighter. “Maybe, but what else are we going to do? They can pack their things and leave town until all of this is over.”

“If the government’s involved, it’s not going to be so easy as picking up and moving somewhere new,” Jason added.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Tim asked, whirling to face him as anger bubbled in his gut. “We can’t keep working like this and grasping at straws. We have to get information somehow!”

“Hey,” Jason said, raising his hands. “All I’m saying is that this doesn’t have to be our only option. We have a tracer on the other van, right? Oracle is tracking the location. We can use that lead first and keep an eye on these guys. Watch their patterns and when they leave to go out looking for people.”

Tim bared his teeth, mouth twisting into something ugly. “Who knows how long that’s going to take?”

“Give Oracle a day and we can see what new info she has for us.”

Tim didn’t make a move, squeezing the binoculars tightly in his hand.

“One day,” Jason said. “And if we don’t have anything new, we can ask them.”

“Fine,” Tim hissed, shoving the binoculars back in his belt. “Let’s just get back home, then.”

“Hey,” Jason said, catching his arm as he made to sprint across the roof and make their way back across Gotham.

“What?” Tim snapped.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Really? Because you’re pretty angry over waiting a day to interrogate some workers.”

Tim pulled his arm away. “I’m just tired,” he deflected. “Let’s get back to my apartment.”

He didn’t wait for a response as he took off across the roof. He knew Jason would be following him and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or irritated by that. He huffed a breath as he grappled to the top of the next roof and rolled, ignoring the stinging in his back that was more pronounced than earlier. At least his head had stopped hurting. The last thing he needed was a concussion.

They didn’t run into any other capes on their trek across Gotham and Tim didn’t realize how early it was until he was locking up the window of his apartment behind him.

“You can go ahead and shower, I’m going to update my case files,” he said, pulling off his domino, the spirt gum sticking uncomfortably to his skin.

“Sure,” Jason said and walked into the next room.

Tim tossed his mask on the coffee table and perched on the edge of the couch. He pulled his laptop over to him and logged in, pulling up his files. He scrubbed at his eyes, feeling more tired than he should for the time of night. He hadn’t even done a full patrol.

He sighed and started typing what he could immediately remember from their patrol. He started with the sniper and then added the location of the workers with the van from that night.

He tapped his comm link, changing frequencies. “Oracle?” he asked.

“What can I do for you, Red Robin?”

“Do you have the map and info for that second van?”

“Sure do. I’m working on encrypting a file of the map with latitude and longitude measurements. I grabbed a satellite image and you were lucky enough that they didn’t have any measures to cut off GPS signals. The tracker got into their garage so we know where the vans are being kept. Who knows if that’s the final stop, but the facility from what I can see is big enough to house a large number of people and has electric and sewage lines to keep that many people happy. I’ll send it your way once I get everything compiled.”

“Great thanks. I owe you one,” Tim said, relieved.

“Don’t you all,” she hummed, pulling a smile from Tim. “Anything else you need?”

“Not right now. But keep an eye on that tracker and let me know the second it goes dark.”

“You got it. Oracle out.”

Tim sighed and saved his case files before pulling up the other document that he’d been working on. He yawned, rubbing at his eyes as he started to update his log on what was happening to him. The difficulty he’d had with taking hits that night was concerning, as was his lack of breath, but nothing he couldn’t deal with. They were getting closer and once Babs got him the info on the location of the building where the van had gone, they could clean this up quickly. He knew they could.

“Shower’s all yours,” Jason called as he pulled the bathroom door open.

“Sure,” Tim mumbled, continuing to type. He thought Jason was going to say something else, but when he glanced up, the hallway was empty. “Whatever,” he muttered, finishing up his files. He saved his documents and locked his computer, leaving it on the coffee table.

He slipped into the bathroom and started undoing the latches on his uniform, leaving it in a pile on the floor. He turned on the shower and stepped under the spray, hissing at the too warm water. He turned it lower and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, dumping some into his hand as he quickly washed.

He turned to rinse the soap from his hair and his elbow caught the edge of a bottle. It tumbled down into the tub and hit the edge of his pinky toe.

“Fuck,” Tim cursed, flinching back as his toe throbbed painfully. He braced his hands against the shower wall and tried to breathe through the pain that seemed to expand outward to encompass his whole foot.

He grit his teeth, hands curling into fists as his foot throbbed in time with his heartbeat. “Why is this happening to me?” he muttered as hot tears pricked the edges of his eyes.

He sniffed and straightened, fighting to get his emotions under control as warm water cascaded down his shoulders and back. He breathed through his nose, mentally counting the seconds in his head until he managed to calm down and the pain had mostly subsided.

Tim finished his shower and shut off the water. He grabbed a towel and wiped himself down, wrapping it around his waist as he headed back for the bedroom, leaving his suit in a pile on the floor.

Jason was laying in bed, his back to the door as it rose and fell gently. Tim dressed quietly and left his towel to try before he crawled into bed. He stared at Jason’s back and reached out before stopping and pulling his hand back.

He rolled over onto his other side and faced the closet doors. He let out a heavy sigh, his eyes sliding shut. Despite yawning earlier and feeling exhausted, his mind was buzzing, thoughts flying in every direction as it tried to make sense of everything that was going on.

He knew he needed to sleep and he’d be worse off and more irritable tomorrow if he didn’t, but he didn’t think he’d be able to do more than doze every few hours, even with Jason’s breaths holding a steady rhythm in the air.

**Author's Note:**

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